Maharagwe, a vegetarian recipe from Kenya

Name: Maharagwe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Kenya
Ingredients: 500 g cooked red kidney beans, drained; 400 ml coconut milk; 4 ripe tomatoes, crushed; 2 onions, finely chopped; 4 garlic cloves, chopped; 3 cm piece of ginger, grated; 1 tbsp curry powder; 1 tsp paprika; 3 tbsp neutral oil; 200 ml water; 1 bunch coriander, chopped; Salt and pepper

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions for 8 minutes, until golden at the edges.
Add the garlic and ginger, then the curry powder and paprika, stirring for 1 minute to wake the spices.
Stir in the crushed tomatoes and reduce over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the mixture thickens and darkens.
Add the drained beans and the water, then mash a large spoonful of beans against the pan to thicken the sauce naturally.
Pour in the coconut milk, season, and simmer uncovered over low heat for 15 minutes.
Taste: the sauce should coat a spoon and be faintly sweet from the coconut. Loosen with hot water if it has gone too thick.
Scatter with coriander and serve with rice or ugali, or chapati if you are not avoiding gluten.

Maharagwe is cooked all along the Kenyan coast, where coconut milk is an everyday ingredient. Salt only after the coconut milk goes in, or the sauce tastes over-seasoned as it reduces.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.
Reduce
Uncovered, water leaves and flavour concentrates. It is done when the sauce coats the back of a spoon.

Frequently asked questions

Why add the salt only after the coconut milk?

The pot then reduces uncovered for fifteen minutes and the coconut milk concentrates. Salted early, it tastes over-seasoned by the end. Taste right at the finish, once the sauce has reached its final consistency.

How do I thicken the sauce without flour?

Crush a big spoonful of the beans against the side of the pan: their starch binds the sauce naturally. That works better than reducing longer, which risks splitting the coconut milk. If it goes too thick, loosen with hot water.

Can I use dried beans instead of tinned?

Yes, the recipe simply starts from cooked beans, however you get there. Soak overnight, then bring to the boil in unsalted water and boil hard for 10 minutes before simmering until they crush easily; simmering alone is not enough to destroy the toxic lectin in raw kidney beans. Pick the recipe up at the onion stage, and keep a little of their cooking liquid to use in place of the water.

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Maharagwe

Method

The techniques this recipe uses

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Nutrition per serving

Frequently asked questions

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