Foodie Lifestyle

Lamu Tamu

January 23, 2013 By Wangeci Wandere cici Foodie Lifestyle 4 Comments

AMAZING!!

So I went to Lamu over the new years holidays. I went with a group called Bunduz Safaris. They did a very decent job and in some areas actually surpassed my expectations.

I enjoyed my trip, for the most part only down side is that it was a road trip. Who knew Lamu was that FAR??? I should have done my research. I was also a bit dissapointed with the food. For some reason the places that the organizers chose to take us for stop over lunches and dinners were AWFUL. Our first stop over at Voi I actually chose to have chicken and chips coz in my mind we had 5 days to have lots of GREAT swahili food. Waringa had the mutton pilau and it was OOOH SOO DELICIOUS and that i could say was one of the best dishes that whole holiday. We had a stop over in Malindi where i really hated the food. I had smoked fish in coconut sauce it was cold, others tried biriani and pilau but it was terribly bland, again in Lamu same thing bland food not a reflection of the spicy and exciting swahili dishes.

But the breakfast was amazing. They would serve viazi karai (directly translated to mean potatoes on pan,have to make this soon), mahamri (kenyan doughnuts) , mishikaki (beef in spicy marinade on a skewer), mbaazi (pigeon peas in coconut sauce), bhajia (potatoes or onions dipped in gram flour then deep fried), masala tea, fresh fruit juices (the orange was to die for).

I also went spice shopping that was the highlight of my trip. I bought some for my Foodie Penpal. I got some in Lamu but most in Malindi. I’ll write about that soon. Here are pics of my trip

My bed, it was HUGE and the base was made of concrete!

Breathtakingly beautiful

spice shopping in Lamu

the narrow streets of Lamu

Always posing 🙂

someone opened the door before i could take the pic 🙁

not too sure if this was someones house or a hotel

sundried fish, looks a bit scary I know!!

My face is sweaty I know :-/ I was not bright enough to take a photo of this door without me but can you see how beautiful it is?

one of the many Mosques

;

🙂

and it continued

then it changed!!

beautiful ain’t it?

i just loved the doors

this thing is apparently from the early 19th century

a model of the swahili kitchen at the museum

the bedroom belonging to the man of the house

Again i know my face is sweaty, it was damn hot, but concentrate on two things; how high is that bed??? and look at my feet, those are iron flip flops if they walked with them I wonder how!!

the view from the balcony at the apartments we stayed in

some of the islands of lamu Island

floating restaurant

Beautiful sunset as we left Manda Island

how nice does this look

🙂

my gal Waringa rocking her heena

on the last night, we went to Malindi and had a really nice dinner at the Casino

my plate; grilled calamari and red snapper YUM

I told you I went spice shopping in Lamu, well I got the real stash in Malindi. I’ll post about that soon

Girls Dinner + A recipe: Chilli Sri Lankan Chicken

November 27, 2012 By Wangeci Wandere cici Foodie Lifestyle, Main Dishes 3 Comments

So on the weekend a few girls got together at one of our colleagues houses. We had a mini girl’s dinner at Sampathi’s house. We had lots of fun. Sampathi made us chilli Sri Lankan Chicken and a fried eggplant salad, she served this with pasta. It was really tasty.

Mona, Sampathi and Lisa after dinner

The chicken was quite hot, I was sweaty and had a running nose all the time I was eating but it was delicious. The eggplant salad was also quite flavourful. The fried eggplants reminded me a bit of fried plantains they had a bit of sweetness that paired with the tanginess of the spring onions was fabulous. After dinner Tomoko gave us some Japanese sweets that are made from beans. VERY interesting. After dinneer we got into some mischief of taking photos and some of us tried fitting into Sampathi’s massive reed basket. The photos follow :- )

Soraya and I

Lisa worked at the circus in her previous life 🙂

Sampathi sitting pretty 🙂

Can you believe she actually fit in there???

I attempted to fit inside..but ooh no it would not close

Do not worry the recipe is coming VERY soon

Mona, How cute does she look? like a scared kitty

Sam’s plate; chicken, spaghetti and eggplant salad

FINALLY the recipe 🙂

Girls Dinner + A recipe: Chilli Sri Lankan Chicken

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Yield: 3-4

Ingredients

500 grams chicken on bone
4 tablespoons crushed garlic
2 teaspoon minced ginger
¼ teaspoon cloves
¼ teaspoon cardamom
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon tamarind paste (available at Nakumatt)
1 tablespoon French mustard
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper (use more or less depending on your preference)
2 tablespoons turmeric
2 stalks of lemon grass (available at Nakumatt)
1 large onion, sliced
200 ml coconut milk (you can also use normal milk or a mixture of the two)

Instructions

Mix 2 tablespoons of garlic, 1 teaspoon ginger, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, tamarind, mustard, coriander powder and turmeric. Marinate the chicken in this mixture for at least 30 minutes. Longer if possible.

Heat oil in a pan, add the onion. Cook till the onions are soft. Add the garlic, ginger, lemon grass and chillies. Cook till fragrant. Add the chicken. Mix well. Reduce the heat and cover the pan. Let the chicken simmer.

Add a little water if needed. Cook until almost cooked through about 15-20 minutes. Add the coconut milk. Taste and make sure the flavour is as spicy as you would like it, if not add some cayenne pepper. Let it simmer for 10 minutes till cooked.

HAPPY EATING!!!

If you do not have tamarind paste substitute with Vinegar (1 tablespoon vinegar for 1 tablespoon tamarind paste ) or lime juice ( 2 tablespoons tamarind paste for 1 tablespoon tamarind paste) mix this with a little brown sugar. You can also use Worcestershire sauce. With this substitutes the taste will not be exactly the same but its close enough You can substitute the lemon grass for lemon rind

https://www.themothershipvillage.com/girls-dinner-a-recipe-chilli-sri-lankan-chicken/

Girls Afternoon Out in Kakuma Town

November 8, 2012 By Wangeci Wandere cici Foodie Lifestyle 4 Comments

Posing session before the walk to town: my self, mo and mona

So I get these questions A LOT.

GOSH!! what do you guys do there for fun, as in is there somewhere do go?

is there alcohol ? (as if life will be nonexistence without)

Is there a town? a road?

Well here are a few answers in pictures. This is not what we typically do on a Saturday afternoon but we just decided to see what is out there. do something different.