An average Kenyan household generally eats ugali na sukuma wiki for dinner. Sukuma wiki (sue-kumma wick-ie) is similar to collard greens and usually boiled with some tomatoes and onions. In Swahili, “sukum wiki” means “to push the week” which implies this is a food used to stretch meals to last for the week. Kenyans eat this dish with their hands by pinching off a small bit of ugali (ew-gal-ie) with their fingers, rolling it into a ball, and using their thumb to make a small depression to scooping up a bite of sukuma. Sukuma Wiki can be made out of most any leafy green vegetable, mainly collards or kale.

Ugali na Sukuma Wiki – Kenyan Cornmeal Porridge with Collard Greens

This vegetable dish is incredibly healthy and easy to make. Sukuma wiki can be made out of any leafy green, usually collards or kale. Eaten with a scoop of ugali, a stiff cornmeal porridge, ugali na sukuma wiki will you feel like your right in Kenya.

5 from 2 votes

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Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: African, East Africa, Kenya

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 40

Servings:

Author: My Hungry Traveler

Equipment

Large pot or wok
Medium saucepan

Ingredients

1 lb Collard greens or kale
2 medium Tomato
1 large White onion, peeled and diced
1 tbsp Vegetable oil
½ tsp Each: ground cumin, coriander, and turmeric
2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp Fresh ground black pepper
1 large Lemon, juiced
3½ cup White cornmeal (sub: yellow cornmeal)
1 tbsp Salted butter (or oil if preferred)
1 cup tap water

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Sukuma Wiki

Rinse greens. Chop leaves and ribs into 1-inch pieces. Roughly chop the tomatoes.
Heat oil in deep pot or wok over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook over medium-high heat until softened, 7-8 minutes. Stir in coriander, cumin and turmeric. Then stir in the tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add ⅓ of greens, stir for a minute to coat. Repeat process 2 more times. Stir in salt and lots of pepper. Add water, cover pot, lower heat to medium, and cook for 15 minutes covered, and 5-10 minutes uncovered until greens become tender and most of the liquid cooks off.
Remove from heat and set cover aside. Mix in lemon juice and adjust seasoning to taste. Serve hot with a chunk of ugali.

Ugali

While greens are cooking, bring water and butter to a boil. Reduce heat to low and whisk in cornmeal, one cup at a time to prevent lumps. Keep stirring vigorously with a wood spoon until it separates from the sides of the saucepan and takes on the aroma of roasted corn. Turn it out onto a serving plate and shape it into a round mound. Serve warm alongside sukuma wiki and other meat or vegetable stews.