You know those times when you are just chilling at home then guest come knocking? I know all Kenyans can relate to this since in our culture, it is quite normal to show up/visit unannounced. While it is a good thing as it preserves the sense of community, most of the time sometimes , you really are not prepared for them. And it is considered rude not to serve guests something small to eat while they are in your home. So we resolve to offering whatever is there to make them feel at home.
We once received unexpected guests some Sunday ago. We had nothing flamboyant to prepare, so we gave them exactly what we were having for lunch that afternoon- Coconut Rice and this Peppery Carrot and Garlic Ndengu. While this is a very normal meal to us, the guests were so impressed with what we served them that they could have sworn we knew they were coming :D. This is not to show off, but to encourage you too to strive to make each meal a memorable banquet. So much so that eating fantastic food becomes part of your everyday life. After all, life is too short to wait for only special occasions to eat great tasting food. Have nice food as often as you can.
So for today: Peppery Carrot and Garlic Ndengu. Hope you try this out
PREP TIME: 7 MIN COOK TIME: 30 MINUTES SERVES: 8
Ndengu Ingredients
2 cups of ndengu (green grams)
4 tomatoes, grated
Spring onion, a handful
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 heaped tablespoon of black pepper
1/2 a tablespoon of whole cumin seeds
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 heaped tablespoon of Royco
3 carrots, finely diced
Method
Boil your ndengu and set them aside.
In a separate sufuria, heat your vegetable oil and add your cumin seeds. Once they start to sizzle, add the spring onion. Let this stay on the heat for about 2 minutes, or until the soften.
Add the grated tomatoes and the garlic and mix. Follow this with the two table spoons of tomato paste. Add 1/4 cup of hot water and mix. Turn down the heat and let this simmer for about 5 minutes. You can clearly see the difference in thickness and color when you look at the first picture and the second one. That difference was brought about by the tomato paste.
Add your ndengu and the diced carrots and mix it in with everything. Mix in your royco and black pepper with some hot water to form a paste and mix it with the ndengu. Carrots not only add color to these ndengu but also provide some texture. This makes the eating experience even more fab!
Cover the lid and let this simmer for about 10-15 minutes so that all the flavors meld. As that goes, prepare your favorite starch them serve with the ndengu after they are done.
This is a popular Kenyan meal and since it s easy to make at home, so why not go all out?
This goes particulary well with chapati or rice! Also, you can use this exact recipe to prepare lentils or pulses.
Make every meal a feast!
xo
Download the full recipe here:
All content and images are copyright protected by
Do not copy in part or whole without giving due credit.
Hey there! My name is Kaluhi and I love food! Through my blog, I am happy to share with you my self-taught recipes, steeped in nostalgia and the happiest of memories. I hope each recipe you try out is as addictive as the previous one and is shared on a table full of love and hearty laughs!
I love ndengu so this is a must try
Best ndengu recipe out here. Tell me how it goes, though I have no doubt that you will love it 🙂
hey,for how long did you boil your ndengu am about to try this recipe leo for lunch so I don’t know if its too late for me to boil my ndengu…
Hey Sheila, I do not normally time, but i know they are done when they are soft. Just put them to boil, then taste them from time to time. If they are still hard, they are not yet done, but when they are nice and soft, they are boiled through.
How to prepare and make a nice meal of matoke
Hey Eunice, There are two matoke recipes on this blog. Just look them up
I did this on Sunday with chapo….amazing was the outcome, posted it on your twitter page. Hope ul look at it..Thank You
So happy you liked this as much as I did. I have logged in to twitter but I have not seen it. Or maybe you can tag me on instagram…
Great recipe! Kudos! … Is some salt allowed for seasoning?
Ofcourse! As you read my recipes, have an open mind and add (or remove) what you believe will make this better according to your prefference.I may forget to right some ingredients or you may wish to add some so just go with your instinct and awaken your inner chef.
this is the best blog i have come across!i absolutely lovr it. i learnt about it jana after reading some true love magazine…am ready to go the kitchen….u got amazing recipes..
Thank you so much. I am beyond pleased that you enjoy my recipes. Hope you try all of them LOL 😀
I cooked this for my family last night with wali wa nazi and coleslaw….they woke up still singing praises….I think I have been living in a cave coz there is no other explanation as to how I just found out about your blog nway I am on a mission to cook each and every one of your recipes…love love love
Hey Virginiah,
I am so happy to know you tried this out, and even paired it with other recipes from the blog. You combination sounds absolutely delicious and I am glad you family enjoyed every single bit of it.
Karibu sana to the #KKfam…better late than never don’t you think :))?
xx
I can’t wait to try this today. Question can I add coconut milk and also I don’t have cumin seeds I have grounded cumin. How many spoons do I need to use?
And for the tomatoes I don’t have fresh to grate I have the diced in a can, can I still use them?
Thanks,
~Sheila
Hey Sheila,
You can use ground cumin. If you have the exact amount of ndengu I used in this recipe, use 1 teaspoon. If you have less of more, use your judgement and adjust accordingly. As for the tomatoes, you can still use those. Nyanya ni nyanya ama?! :). Do not add coconut milk since I feel it will be too conflicting with the cumin which has a pretty assertive taste.
Thank you soo much Nyanya ni Nyanya hehe will let you know how it feels
Made this today, absolutely loved it!
One of my favest ever! glad you enjoyed :))
Yessss to : ‘So much so that eating fantastic food becomes part of your everyday life. After all, life is too short to wait for only special occasions to eat great tasting food. ‘
That should simply be everyone’s motto when it comes to cooking and eating!
Yummy yummy ndengu recipe. I usually don’t fancy ndengu but I enjoyed it.
So glad to know that!!!
Hi, I’m very interested in trying this recipe. I googled royco – can you tell me what type of seasoning you used?
Royco is a spice blend that has: fenugreek, cumin, dried coriander, garlic, fennel seeds, turmeric and parika.
I tried this today and it was amazing!!
Glad you loved it!