Tender Mbuzi ( Goat) Stew ..with a surprise ingredient.

One of the things I love most about food is that it acts as a repository for memories. Be it good or bad, we all have had the experience of a sudden rush of memories triggered by a certain aroma, flavor, or even just hearing the name of a vegetable mentioned ( pumpkin, anyone? 🙂

For me, this particular mbuzi stew brings back memories of my son’s 1st birthday. We had a small party at home and had hired a chef to cook for our guests. As you can imagine, I was very excitedly watching how he and his team prepared the food. He was gracious enough to share some of his cooking secrets with me, including the surprise ingredient for this recipe –cinnamon.

Yep, you heard me right. Cinnamon. Isn’t that more commonly used in desserts and sweets, you ask? Well, as it turns out, you can use cinnamon in your goat meat too. It helps to tenderize the meat and thickens the sauce. Interestingly, when cooked just right, the cinnamon blends in with the other ingredients so you can barely taste it in the finished dish.

From experience, I’ve noticed that cooking this mbuzi stew over a charcoal or wood fire gives the best result. Since the fire is generally not as hot as a gas fire, the meat cooks slowly and acquires a rich, earthy flavor that just melts in your mouth. However, if you do not have access to a charcoal or wood fire, a gas stove will do.

Remember the goal is to make your mbuzi as tender as possible. So keep the heat between medium and low and do the tenderness test described in the recipe below for the best results. As always with all good things, patience is key. You won’t regret it.:-)

Tender Mbuzi (Goat) stew…with surprise ingredient.

Recipe by Muthoni KamauCourse: Lunch, DinnerCuisine: African, KenyanDifficulty: Easy, Beginner

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

90

1

hour 

10

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 kg goat meat ( Leg or ribs)- cubed

• 2 inches ginger – minced

• 1 medium head of garlic

• 1 medium red onion

• 1/2 large capsicum

• 1/2 large red bell pepper

• 1/2 large yellow bell pepper

• 3 large tomatoes – chopped

• 2 tsp curry powder

• 2 tsp Royco mchuzi mix

• 1 & 1/2 tsp salt ( or to taste)

• 1/2 tsp black pepper ( omit if cooking for kids or people with high sensitivity to pepper)

• 2 tsp cinnamon powder

• EQUIPMENT

• 1 Medium sized bowl

• 1 small bowl or cup

• Medium sized deep pot

• Chopping board & knife

• Mortar and pestle

• Stove

Directions

• In a clean medium sized bowl, wash the chopped goat meat with clean water. Drain off the excess water.
• Place a clean cooking pot on the stove and light it, setting the flame to medium.
• Transfer the goat meat into the pot and add a little water ( about 1/2 cup).Then add the cinnamon powder ,stir and cover the pot.Let the goat meat simmer in its own juices until dry.
  
• Once all the water has evaporated, pick out 2 – 3 pieces of the meat and check for tenderness. To do this, try to tear each piece with your fingers. If the meat comes apart easily, it has tenderized. If it doesn’t, it needs more time. Add more water and let it simmer some more. Repeat the ‘tenderness test’ until the meat is to your liking.
• Once the meat has tenderised, add the crushed garlic, ginger and red onion and let them cook until fragrant. At this point, you may add the vegetable oil if you prefer. For this recipe, I let the meat cook in its own juices so did not add any oil.
• Add the tomatoes and cover the pot. let the tomatoes cook until they have completely disintegrated then stir the meat to mix it all up. You may add a little water if it begins to stick to the bottom of the pot. Add the bell peppers.
• In a small bowl, mix the curry powder, mchuzi mix, salt and black pepper with some water to make a sauce.Pour this over the meat and cover. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer until it comes to a boil. Your tender mbuzi stew is now ready.
• Garnish with some fresh red and yellow bell peppers and serve hot with chapati or ugali and vegetables. Enjoy!