Kenya

I have been planning to visit Kenya for three years. At first I didn’t find suitable offers and when I finally found exactly what I wanted the world “closed the shutters”. 🙁 And it seems that soon it will not travel the way we did a few months ago. Unfortunately. So all I’m going to write here is just information I’ve read about this African country, but unfortunately I haven’t experienced it yet.

Kenya is one of the most beautiful countries in the world with its diverse landscapes and diversity of animal species, with the hospitality of the locals. The Masai Mara Reserve is becoming a natural scene for the most impressive wildlife performance on the planet. Every year, when the rainy season ends in May, hundreds of thousands of wildebeest gather and search for greener pastures than the Serengeti (which in the Maasai language means “endless plains”) in Tanzania north of Kenya’s vast pastures. Masai Mara ”, where they arrive in July and August. Kenya is one of the small corners of our planet, where part of the savannah is still untouched by humans. The whole country is like one big reserve that is worth seeing. For the past 15 years, Kenya has become a country of reserves and national parks. There are a total of 59 national parks and reserves. The most famous among them are: Nairobi National Park, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Lake, Nakuru National Park, Amboseli National Park and Tsavo East National Park.

The equator divides the territory of Kenya approximately in half. So there is the same temperature all year round – 26-32 degrees during the day and 23-26 degrees at night. That is why Kenya has the best climate in Africa. Looking at the snow outside, I thought that it would not be bad for me to live there. Or at least I can go there now… Dreams, dreams and reality with lockdown. 🙁

In the African country, Swahili is spoken and each meeting begins with the word “Jumbo”, which does not mean an elephant, but “Hello”. 🙂 The famous “Hakuna Matata” from the movie “The Lion King” is also in Swahili and means “don’t worry”, “get rid of all anxiety”. I have read that people who live in relatively constant climates are calmer and happier than those like us who know four seasons. This is because they do not care to harvest and accumulate resources for the cold months. What it is today, it will be in a month, in 5, in 10. This fact explains why these people are calmer and more cheerful than us, and also why they have an expression like “Hakuna Matata”. 🙂

Traditional Kenyan cuisine is represented not only by vegetables and exotic fruits, but also by the meat of zebra, crocodile, ostrich, giraffe, African boar and other wildlife. As for the Kenyan people, they eat mainly rice, potatoes, corn, beef, chicken or goat meat. In addition to national dishes, Kenya has some that are specific to a particular tribe or region. From a gastronomic point of view, Swahili cuisine is the most interesting. It is based on tamarind and coconut. In the Luo tribe you can enjoy the taste of fried tilapia fish with utopias (corn porridge). A traditional dish for the Kikuyu tribe is a stew made from potatoes, corn and peas and is called Irio. Many Kenyan dishes are too spicy due to the abundance of peppers used in them, such as boiled potato balls or kochumbari salad, which includes tomatoes, onions and hot peppers. The country also produces a large number of wine grape varieties that have a sweet fruity aroma. Papaya wine is also especially popular. Naivasha is considered the best wine in Kenya. Desserts in Kenya are mostly fruits and fruit derivatives such as various jams. Sweets are a relatively new culinary tradition in Kenya, now the country is ready to cook and eat donuts with mandaazi, and in addition to them in restaurants you can try a variety of cakes with or without fruit.

I made for you a milk pie called “Milk tart”. Here are the necessary products:

for cake base:

400 grams of puff pastry; I used ready-made, but if you want you can prepare it yourself

for the filling:

5 tea cups milk (1 liter)

125 grams of flour

125 grams of sugar

60 grams of butter

6 egg yolks

pinch of salt

grated orange peel

tablespoon cinnamon

Steps of preparation:

Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface so that you can cover the walls and bottom of the pan. Since my dough was rectangular, I chose an oval tray. I found it easier to roll it. 😉

Grease the pan and place the dough. Press on the walls to fit well.

Cut the excess dough to the edge of the pan.

Lay baking paper on top and sprinkle with beans, dried peas… The idea is to make the so-called. blind baking. The effect to be achieved is to baking the base without swelling.

Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated 200 degree oven, then remove the weight and bake the dough open for another 5 minutes.

Remove to cool and make the filling. Put the milk, sugar and flour on the stove and cook until thickened at medium temperature for about 10-15 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and add the salt, butter and egg yolks, stirring constantly. Finally, add the orange peel.

Pour the filling over the cooled base and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees, then bake for another 30 minutes at 160 degrees on the bottom rack. The filling will not become quite hard, it will shake slightly in the middle, but do not worry. When it cools down, everything will be fine. Allow to cool completely before cutting the cake.

Because of the cinnamon, my husband will not be very happy, but at home it smells like Christmas and I feel great. 🙂 The cake has a delicate and buttery taste and is a great dessert for any occasion. It does not require who knows what skills and who knows how much time in the kitchen to prepare. There are 25 days left until Christmas and all the aromas like cinnamon, orange, cloves, butter bring me pleasant emotions and anxious anticipation. 🙂 I don’t know what Kenya smells like. I really hope to be on a safari in Masai Mara next August and see the big five – a name given by big game hunters to the five most difficult animals to hunt in Africa. These are elephant, buffalo, lion, rhino and leopard. I have watched many times the great migration of wildebeest on television. It looks very large and magnificent. I am convinced that it will fill my soul. Give me a thumbs up next year to make this dream come true. Stay healthy! 🙂

Next destination – Cyprus.