Being in France, I'm surrounded by some of the finest foods in Europe - and quite possibly, in the world. Every corner I turn, I'm surrounded by creperies, fruit stands, rows of bottled cider (avec d'alcool, one assumes, in the region of Bretagne). So why is it that my mind sometimes wanders, if only for a second, back to the seemingly less-inspiring foods of Kenya?
In my two-week sojourn in Africa, I was fortunate enough to sample some of the most authentic of plates: Matoke (plantains that are peeled and then steamed on top of their stalks, resulting in a yellow, potato-type consistency), chapati (while its true origin is in India, this wheat flatbread with a gyro-style thickness is plentiful in Kenya), githeri (an original of the Kikuyu Tribe and a melange of beans and maize) and here's the clincher: Ugali.
Consisting only of maize flour and water, ugali had me at, "Hello...
...Can you pass the sauce?"
Ugali is possibly the simplest of Kenyan's dishes in terms of both preparation and "wow" factor, and may often be confused with a colorless Play-Dough (especially after seeing the kids at Jamii school roll it up and form various geometric shapes). But, while we may not admit it, I think we all sampled a little Play-Dough as children and, just maybe, enjoyed it.
Paired with fried cabbage or githeri, ugali can turn quickly from "pass" to "pass it over." But the main purpose of this plate in Kenya? To fill. And does it ever.
As I sit at this beautiful French cafe, sipping my Perrier, I realize - I'm hungry. And no more than two hours prior, I enjoyed a delicious "salade poulet" (tomate, oeuf, concombre, poivron, coleslaw, melange poulet, taboule, gruyere).
So, here is where I'll turn my taste buds off for two seconds and just admit it: I miss flour and water.
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