Mukimo

Name: Mukimo
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Kenyan
Ingredients: 800 g Floury potatoes, peeled and chunked; 200 g Cooked maize kernels; 150 g Cooked beans; 150 g Pumpkin leaves or spinach, chopped; 1 Onion, chopped; 2 tbsp Neutral oil; 1 tsp Salt; 100 ml Cooking water from the potatoes

Potatoes mashed together with maize, beans and green leaves until the whole bowl turns pale green — a Kikuyu celebration dish that is comfort food and centrepiece at once.

Source

Recette de Kenyan home kitchens · 🏺 Traditionnel · Everyday Kenyan cooking — the maize-meal, greens and grilled-meat table shared from Nairobi flats to upcountry homesteads.

Kenyan · Kikuyu celebration dish — An ownerless traditional dish, so no cook is credited. The cited article confirms mukimo (mokimo) as a traditional Kenyan dish made by mashing potatoes with maize, beans and greens, associated with the Kikuyu. A closely related dish is often called irio, but no Wikipedia article exists under that title, so it is not cited here. Quantities and method are this book's own.

Background on Wikipedia ↗

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⏱ 50 min🍽 4 portions🔥 340 kcal🇰🇪 Kenya

HalalVéganeVégétarienSans glutenSans produits laitiersSans fruits à coque

Étapes

Boil the potatoes in salted water until a knife slides in easily, about 20 minutes. Scoop out a cup of the water before draining.
Meanwhile fry the onion in the oil until soft, then add the chopped greens and cook for 3–4 minutes until they wilt right down.
Add the drained potatoes, maize and beans to the pan with the salt and a splash of the reserved water.
Mash everything together with a sturdy wooden spoon or masher. Keep going until the potato takes on the colour of the greens and the maize and beans stay visible as whole pieces through it.
💡 Mukimo is deliberately not smooth. If it looks like uniform mashed potato you have gone too far.
Press it into a bowl, turn it out onto a plate as a mound, and serve hot with nyama choma or a stew.

💡 Astuces

This is a wedding and celebration dish among the Kikuyu — the mound in the middle of the table is part of the presentation, not just a way to serve it.
Made with yesterday's githeri it takes 25 minutes instead of an hour, which is how most Kenyan homes actually make it.
A knob of butter is a modern addition; the traditional dish is vegan and gets its richness from the beans.