Walk into most up market restaurants in Kenya and you will
see servers flying out of the kitchens carrying plates that include dark green
vegetables, one of which will most likely be the African nightshade. The
African Nightshade is an indigenous vegetable popularly known as ‘managu’ in
Kenya. In comparison to kale or collard greens (spinach), managu is a highly
nutritious vegetable rich in protein, iron, calcium, folate as well as vitamin
A, C and E.
Though there are those that might find it slightly bitter to
the taste, managu can be prepared with milk or the cream of milk to take the
edge off a little bit. I love it with cream!
So here is what you
will need:
2 bunches of managu vegetables
1 red onion
1 tomato
Milk cream/milk (to taste)
1 Knorr cube
Salt (to taste)
Let’s Cook!
Pluck the leaves off the stalks. Yes, this can be quite
laborious! Wash the vegetables and make sure to remove all soil/dirt. Boil the vegetable for 30-40 minutes until tender. Drain all the water out. As they
drain, dice the onion and tomato.
In a pan, fry the onion in vegetable oil until it is soft.
Add the tomato and season with salt and 1 Knorr beef cube. When the tomato has
softened, add the managu. After 5 minutes add cream/milk and cook for another
10 minutes.
Serve as an accompaniment to any meal, though it goes down
really well with ‘ugali’, a polenta like dish served in East Africa. So next
time you go to the market, treat yourself to a bunch, or two, of managu and
remember…fried/boiled green vegetables contain more usable iron than raw
vegetables.
How would you enjoy your greens?
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