When the embers of the fire crackled, releasing smoke from the soot-covered pots, our ancestors created the taste and appearance of resilience. Ngunja gutu is a food that cannot be found in modern cookbooks.
It is a food whose recipe is made up of ingredients that have sung and whispered to the earth and made the sky cry for Mother Earth. A food whose greatest nightmare was extinction, but perhaps it was just a premonition. This is because traditional and healthy food is in balance. The winds of time are slowly erasing the existence of this nutritious dish, and if it is not documented, nothing will remain of this dish that has stood the test of time but fragments of a broken memory.
If you ask most people if they know what ngunja gutu is or if they have tasted it, the responses will vary from "What? What is that?" to "No, I have never heard of it" and "I have never eaten it," "Is it a type of food?" In short, there's quite a bit of confusion. Ngunja gutu was famous in central Kenya. It was made of beans, cornmeal, potatoes, and pumpkin leaves or any other indigenous vegetables.
The ingredients make up a complete meal as they contain proteins, starch, vitamins, and carbohydrates. In practice, a potpourri of goodness.
The curious fact is that this was considered a dish for the poor. One could be blamed for simply consuming it. The irony is that it prevents cases of malnutrition in communities. The best part of preparing this dish is that the ingredients are easily obtainable. They can be grown freely right behind the stables, where the manure from the animals ensures organic growth, while the mooing of cows, the bleating of goats, the clucking of chickens, and the grunting of pigs serenade the growing crops. Or along the river, where it is commonly referred to as "ngurumo".
The dish itself has nothing aesthetic about it. It is an earthy and smoky plate like few others. Raw, as Mother Earth intended it to be, it is her love letter to future generations in these turbulent times when food insecurity keeps us on edge.
Recipe: Preparation of ngunja gutu
Ingredients:
Corn flour
Beans
Potatoes
Squash leaves or other local vegetables
Salt
Water
Tools needed:
Fire
Cooking pot
“Mwiko” (cooking stick)
Knife
Preparation:
After gathering a sufficient amount of ingredients based on the number of people, peel the potatoes without cutting them, wash them thoroughly, and set them aside. Make sure the fire is ready and put the potatoes to boil.
While waiting for the potatoes to reach boiling point, wash the pumpkin leaves thoroughly to ensure that no grains or small insects are left attached and cut them into pieces with a knife. Make sure the beans are thoroughly separated from their skins to avoid consuming the "stone discarded by the builders." Clean them and boil until soft, drain the water, and set them aside.
Finally, after boiling the potatoes and beans, bring the water back to a boil in a pot, add the cornmeal and stir until you obtain a consistent paste, then add the potatoes, pumpkin leaves, and beans, with a pinch of salt. During cooking, make sure to mash the ingredients together to ensure they are well combined and share a single soul.
Once done, remove the pot from the heat and set it aside.
I firmly believe that by documenting the dish, circulating information about it, and teaching people the preparation methods and nutritional benefits, we will be able to save the last glory of this indigenous dish. In doing so, the footprint of food insecurity will be greatly reduced, food sovereignty will increase, and the dish will be embraced as the prodigal son returning home. The "almost lost" ngunja gutu will return to our kitchens and tables, and I am sure our ancestors from the beyond will smile and nod in acknowledgment of having kept their knowledge alive.
