Ndengu Stew

Ndengu Stew




Ndengu is Swahili for green grams, or as they are known in the states, mung beans. Ndengu stew was a favorite of mine when I was attending Egerton University in Njoro, Kenya. Last time I checked, I think they had 4 campuses around the country. 

While studying abroad, I came to really appreciate the dorm food in the USA. I know that everyone complains about how bad it is. I even did before I studied abroad, but I found that after a week or so of eating the limited menu at the student mess that I had technicolor dreams about American dorm food. That said, I did find that I missed certain dishes that I had as a student. Thanks to the internet, I found some recipes for ndengu stew. This version is much more flavorful that the college food version I had, and that's okay. 

For years I wasn't able to find mung beans. The only Indian grocery in CR didn't have them. I don't think the employees even knew what they were when I asked. I ended up first finding these at an Asian (like Chinese and Korean Asian) grocery store in IC. Then I found that the Indian grocery in IC also carries them, and they are much cheaper to buy locally than order online. 

I started with a cup (180 grams) of dry beans. Sorted, rinsed, and cooked. I made them in the pressure cooker while I chopped and prepared the rest of the dish. It's easy to overcook them, so I cooked at 4 minutes of pressure with a natural pressure release (you instant pot owners know what I mean). They were still firm, but ended up being perfectly done when the dish was finished. 
Meanwhile, the rest of the ingredients (you will have to ignore the clutter in the background. I have been really tired lately. 
I really don't have any specific measurements for things. Chop up some onion (I prefer green onions), a stalk of celery, a carrot, and 2 tomatoes. 
Saute the onions, add the carrots and celery, saute further.


Then I added the tomatoes, 1.5 teaspoons of cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of coriander, 1 teaspoon of turmeric, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste. I added enough water to simmer everything, and added in my mung beans (the cooking water was drained off of them by this point). Then I simmered for 10-15 minutes. Normally it is just served this way, but I decided to throw in some spinach that needed to be used up. Cooked greens were traditionally served on the side. Dorm food cooked greens consisted of oily, boiled cabbage or kale, so adding the greens to the pot seemed like a nice alternative. 

Traditional sides for this include fried breads (chapati or mandazi), rice, or ugali (maize meal boiled with water to make a thick paste). Beverages include soft drinks or tea (Kenyan tea is strong and black, served with milk and a lot of sugar). The student mess also offered "soft cake". It was made in large sheet cake pans, and had no frosting. It was a very dense cake, and the closest recipe I ever found for it was a yeast raised cake recipe. 

Comments

  1. Poppy CrockerNovember 6, 2017 at 3:53 PM

    The Asian grocery I used to go to closed. :-(

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lace makerNovember 6, 2017 at 4:53 PM

    That's too bad. Luckily UI is very popular with Asian students. We have multiple Asian grocery stores, and the regular grocery stores have an expanded selection of Asian foods.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Poppy CrockerNovember 12, 2017 at 7:57 AM

      I'm sure there are more elsewhere here-- It's just that that one was near other stores we go to. We do have an Indian grocery by the comic shop, but the owners seem annoyed when I go in.

      Delete

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