Food Habits of Kenya

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Legumes

Overview - Pulses used by the Kikuyu

Tribe	English name	Local name	Use	Importance
Kikuyu	Beans (red, red-white or white in colour, kidney shaped)	Mboco Maharagwe	Dried bean stored, eaten boiled, ingredient of "irio" (food), porridge	Were the most commonly grown varieties
	Pigeon pea ( yellow or green)	Njugu*	Dried, stored, used for "irio"
	Black bean was the usual variety others were brown or white blackish-brown pea	Njahe Njah	Invariably eaten by women as main ingredient for "irio" after child birth; Was also consumed by older women but not by the young;	Foothills of Mount Kenya; Very high calcium content compared to other species; Important for pregnant and lactating women
	Small peas	Thoroko Chiroko		Was not very widely grown, smaller size than the european pea;
	Small green pea	Thuu		Very uncommon
	Red bean	Kunde	"Kitowea" , stews
	Green pea (small, round)	Podzo	"Kitowea" , stews

*Note: It was a custom that the mother of the bride prepared a dish of njugu for the protective bridegroom when he visited her village;

References:
Farnworth Anderson, T. (1937). "Kikuyu diet." The East African Medical Journal 14: 120-131.
Procter, R. A. W. (1926). "The Kikuyu market and kiuyu diet." Kenya Med J. 3: 15.
Allen, K. W. (1955). "The monotonous diet of the African." E.A. Med J 32: 95.

Pulses which were used in Kenya in the 1930s

• Dolichos beans (fiwi bean)
  
• Field peas
  
• Pigeon peas (mbaazi)
  
• Cowpeas (kunde beans)
  
• Maharagwe beans
• Soya beans (introduced)

Reference: French, M. H. (1937). "Some notes on the common foodstuffs used in the diet of East African natives." East African Medical Journal 13: 374-378.

In Kenya a variety of legumes was eaten which varied from district to district. Legumes were boiled together with maize and served as a maize legume mixture. The legumes were also sometimes cooked separately and eaten with a potato bean mixture. Groundnuts were a common food item of the diet in Nyanza. They were occasionally ground into a coarse flour and cooked to form a sauce to eat with ugali.
In the Central Province and Mashakos legumes were the main protein source after cereals.

PDF: Nutrition survey and campaign against malnutrition in Kenya 1964-1968

Created by Verena Raschke 2005 / Contact