NYAMA CHOMA TIME

I was off to lunch today with my very first ‘friend’ I met when I arrived in Kenya.  Like anything else I believe that friendships need to be cultivated, they just don’t happen, and Joshua is some-one I can trust and I can talk to without any reservations about what I have been experiencing or have questions about with his country.  As the taxi to ‘that’ side of town costs me around 38AUD return, which I think is worth every cent to get out and socialise, I also arranged to meet Laura after lunch for a coffee in turn killing two birds with the one taxi fare.  I’m not just a pretty face you know and if I could have wangled it I would have added San in there as well, but I wasn’t sure if she was working or not and decided I would catch up with her another time. 

As it was Election week and the results had not been finalised yet, the entire country was still on a self-imposed lockdown as a precaution in case there was a flair of violence when the results were released and not knowing how the Kenyan community would react.  There is tenseness in the air and the longer the results are taking; more and more people seem to get more anxious.  The hold up now is the manual counting of votes from the 260+ constituencies when the electronic system failed at the start of the week.  But so far so good.  The down side was the businesses were feeling the pinch.   It was becoming an unproductive week for the country as people were cautious as to what sort of reaction the public would have.  There were not many matutu’s on the roads, as people were not travelling to work and even the radio stations were urging people to go to work and finally there was a government directive for their staff to go back to work on Friday-it was time to get the economy back on track once again as it was starting to suffer.  The upside was that what normally would take me 50 minutes took only 25 minutes and I was at Joshua’s work place 30 minutes early.  There seriously was hardly any traffic on the road and it looked a little like a ghost town, compared to what it normally looks like at midday on a Friday.  We were able to take a different route, which was a luxury because normally at that time of day you would well and truly stay away from it and it was nice to travel a different way and see some more of the city.  I was also able to buy an Africa map from one of the road side sellers.  There is a reason behind that, which I will go into later. 

I called Joshua and told him I was early and that I would just wait downstairs at the café until he was able to come down, I ordered a coke and 20 minutes later he joined me.  We sat and chatted for half an hour before we decided to go and eat at a nyama choma (Kenyan BBQ place) which we had talked about on my last visit once we found out that I enjoy BBQ’s and also liked to eat meat that meant that I would like nyama choma, which was a favourite Kenyan pass time.  There was a place just a 5 minute walk from Joshua’s office and we decided to head there to eat.  So how does it all work?  Well we head to the ‘butcher’ section of the building where there are whole flanks of meat hanging behind the counter on hooks and then smaller portions of the animals (ribs, legs etc.) that were kept in a glass cabinet on the counter.  Basically you had a choice of meat-chicken, beef or goat-then you get to pick what part of the animal you wanted-and then you pick if you want it dried fried or wet fried- and then you decide on the level of spiciness.  You are then given a slip of paper that you take to a pay window, with the weight of the meat, you pay and then they prepare the meat to your order while you wait and then deliver it to the bar/restaurant section of the building next door.  Now being a ‘westerner’ it is natural to be thinking about the meat that was hanging.  It wasn’t covered, it wasn’t in a fridge and as far as I could see there were no flies hanging around the place.  The ‘butcher’ section was spotless and it goes to show sometimes I think that we may wrap ourselves up in cotton wool with the way we prepare food sometimes and you don’t have to have all the ‘wizz bang’ appliances to be able to eat food in a healthy and safe manner. 

We took a seat at some bar stools facing outside, ordered some beers (well for me) and then we just chatted the afternoon away.  There is one thing about nyama choma that I did find out and it is if you are in a hurry then this would not be such a good option for a ‘quick’ meal.  As time passed I sent a text message to Laura and told her that we were caught up at lunch and after the second delay message we decided to cancel our coffee for today, but we made a Sunday date for a few drinks at the Village, which is my side of town, for 3pm-which was perfect and then I didn’t feel like I had to rush off and that I was letting some-one down.           

So what exactly is nyama choma? 

Nyama choma, or roasted goat meat, is the ultimate Kenyan experience. For visitors to Kenya, one of the things they are most struck by is the sheer volume of nyama choma (roast meat) that Kenyans consume. Men, women, young or old will create any excuse to converge in groups for a session of nyama choma. Be it after work, birthdays, weddings, even funerals; there is hardly any inappropriate time to eat this national delicacy. Goat’s meat is the most popular for roasting as the flesh is fairly tender and the fat melts into the crevices as the meat is roasting, retaining a nice level of moisture in the meat. 'Choma' evenings are an integral part of the Kenya lifestyle, where friends and colleagues love to mull over the events of their days while chewing on succulent morsels of freshly roasted nyama. If you're inviting a large number of guests home for a party, it is almost mandatory for you to buy a whole goat.  So what is it that draws Kenyans to consume copious amounts of meat? Perhaps it is the sense of togetherness created by sharing a meal from the same tray or platter that makes them keep going back for more. For it is rare to find a person dining on nyama choma alone, not least because the meat is usually ordered by the kilo – quite a lot for one person to consume.  Preferably, nyama choma is consumed in a 'choma' place and washed down with cold Tuskers (local beer). Choma places can be found in all qualities and price classes.  In fact, when visiting any part of Kenya, you won’t have to go far to find a place that serves nyama choma.

So how is it done?  

The process of grilling meat in Kenya is different from the process of barbequing meat typically used in the United States or Europe. Herbs and other seasonings are not used on authentic nyama choma, save for a mixture of salted water, for basting the meat while it roasts on the grill. Diners can choose from different parts of the goat i.e. the ribs, hind legs and front legs, and specify the number of kilograms they’d like to eat. It takes an average of 45 minutes to get ready and brought to your table on a tray and sliced into bite-sized pieces. With a relish of kachumbari and a choice of ugali, potatoes or chapatti and little piles of salt for dipping the meat into before bites, the meal is complete. Cutlery is never used to eat this meal; instead it is eaten by hand. Hand washing facilities are always available for before and after your meal.

After an hour of waiting, which passed quickly as we talked about politics, life and Kenya our food arrived.  We used the small basins provided to wash our hands and then sat back down to eat.  As we had ordered the meat to be wet fried the meat came in like a fresh tomato sauce and we decided to order some ugali to be able to sop up the juices from the meat and the sauce.  There are no eating utensils, you use your hands and then any of the grisel, bone and fat you don’t eat goes onto a spare plate.  Washed down with another beer Joshua and I preceded too eat the plate of goat that we had ordered and it was delicious!  Now this is a part of Kenya cuisine that I wanted to see.  Ugali is a dish of maize flour (cornmeal) cooked with water to a porridge- or dough-like consistency. It is the most common staple starch featured in the local cuisines of the eastern African Great Lakes region and Southern Africa.  The traditional method of eating ugali (and the most common in the rural areas) is to roll a lump into a ball with the right hand, and then dip it into a sauce or stew of vegetables and/or meat. Making a depression with the thumb allows the ugali to be used to scoop, and to wrap around pieces of meat to pick them up in the same way that flat bread is used in other cultures.  Ugali is relatively inexpensive and is thus easily accessible to the poor who usually combine it with a vegetable stew or meat stews and makes a filling meal. Ugali is easy to make and the flour can last for considerable time in average conditions. Maize from which the flour is obtained is hardy and will grow reliably in dry seasons. For these reasons, ugali is an important part of the diet of millions of people of Sub Saharan Africa.  I can’t say it is the tastiest thing eaten on its own, but then I don’t think it is supposed to be anyway.

By the time we had eaten, washed our hands and paid the bill it was nearly 3.30pm.  I can see why this is a popular past time for the Kenyans.  Where does the time go?  I apologised to Joshua for keeping him so long but he said it was a Friday ‘lunch’ and it was fine.  So we made plans to meet next week as there is some-one he said I should meet that has a lot of ‘expat’ friends and that he could be a good contact to have.  So with tentative plans for lunch next week and a hug I was whisked away in a taxi.  It actually happened to be the same guy I had last time I visited but this time I wasn’t going home, I decided to check out The Junction Mall Shopping Mall as I wanted to see if I could find some curtains and a lamp.  To find a lamp seems to be a mission for some reason and I wanted to check the Nakumatt over this side of town.  Well after paying my disappointed taxi driver Dave as he wasn’t taking me all the way to Ruaka, I had a quick look around the centre and then stepped into what was a MASSIVE Nakumatt.  It is seriously 3 times bigger than my one at The Village but after walking around there for 40 minutes, it had more stock, but nothing of real note.  They have a curtain department there, but they make them to order where I was just after some ready made one that they had a very small supply of the nana lace ones which was not really the look I was going for! But I did find a lamp which was good and I also found this amazing jewellery shop called Kazuri where the pieces are made here in Kenya.  Kazuri is the Swahili word for small and beautiful.  They are basically hand-made, hand painted beads made from clay and then fired.  By buying the pieces you contribute to the pride of their workers and the welfare of their families, well who can argue with that?  I think they may actually make great Christmas presents this year… I know, I know to say the C word when it is only March, but Easter is in 2 weeks and then it is April and before you know it the whole year will pass and I will be the smart one getting in early and leaving you all scratching your heads wondering what you are going to buy for people.

My forever faithful Driver Steven was on call and ready to come and collect me for the drive home.  While I waited out the front I was able to jump onto the free Wi-Fi of the Art Café where I had met some of my new friends a few weeks ago and there was a message from Uchenna inviting me to a ‘zappy’ hour tonight at a Mexican restaurant but I knew by the time I got home, paid the taxi money and headed back out again it was going to be tight and the cost for 2 trips in one day a little too much.  This is the second time now that I have had more than one thing on the same day.  Murphy’s Law I guess.  So I messaged Uchenna back and said thanks, but I won’t be able to make it but to let me know when the get together is on.  There was a bit more traffic on our way back but not as much as normal for a Friday afternoon and I made it home just before 6pm. 

What a great afternoon and it was good to taste some Kenyan cuisine.

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