Potato Pancakes

Dad used to make banana bran pancakes every Sunday.  But every once in a while he would make potato pancakes made from leftover mashed potatoes from the night before. 

I like to make a variation of these and serve them for lunch or dinner. They are a lot like Bubble and Squeak, a classic British leftover dish.

You will need:

Leftover mashed potato (mine usually has milk, butter, salt and pepper in it)
fresh or frozen spinach or greens--or leftover cooked greens
nutmeg
pinch of flour (optional)

butter or oil for frying

1.  Warm the potatoes with a tablespoon of water if you need to.  (Microwave or stove top). 
2.  Meanwhile prepare your greens.  If using frozen spinach I usually place a chunk of spinach in a mug of boiling water (from the kettle) and place in the microwave for a minute.  Or let it sit for a five minutes.  If using fresh greens then I chop and shallow fry in water or a touch of oil.  When using leftovers I just pop them in the pot with the leftover mash to reheat.
3.  When the potatoes are soft, mix in the greens, nutmeg, flour, and additional salt and pepper if needed.
4.  Heat the butter or oil in a frying pan over medium/high heat.  Dollop spoonfuls of your mixture onto the pan.  Fry until browned on one side, flip and brown the other side.  This may take 3-5 minutes per side.  They should be able to hold their shape when flipped, but they will remain mushy in the middle.
5.  Serve on their own or with just about anything.  (They go perfectly with an egg or two).

Sukumawiki

Sukumawiki means "push the week" in Swahili.  It refers to a vegetable dish you have to resort to when there is no money left for meat and all you have is greens from your garden.  Since greens are one of the things I can actually manage to grow successfully in my garden we eat this weekly.  We use any kind of greens, like cabbage, Swiss Chard, and spinach.  We often use frozen spinach in the winter months. 

This makes up part of one of our favourite meals: fish, ugali and sukumawiki.  It is actually my son's favourite meal.  We eat it at least weekly and I am always amazed at how such a picky eater gobbles down spinach and fish!


You will need:

Small onion
Cumin seeds
2 Tomatoes, chopped (optional)
Greens, chopped and washed--leave wet

1. Slice and fry the onion in a little bit of oil in a large frying pan until quite soft.
2. Add cumin seeds to toast lightly.
3. Add tomatoes if using and stir for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add greens and allow to wilt.  Stir as needed until the greens are all wilted and the ingredients are well mixed.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serve on its own or as a side dish to meat, chicken or fish.

Rice and Beans (Wali Maharage)

This is roughly based on East African flavours.  And is flexible enough to be adapted to what you have on hand.  For instance, we almost always have carrots in ours, which would not be traditional.  We eat this once or twice a week.  It is inexpensive, yet full of flavour and protein.  For a heartier meal, this can be served with spicy fried prawns (shrimp) or some grilled meat.  In Tanzania this might be eaten with your hands, but you can use a spoon!

For the Rice:

The rule in our house, according to my Other Half, is that the rice needs to be basmati and preferably Tilda brand.  (I prefer brown rice, but we have to compromise on occasion).  You can actually serve the beans with plain rice of any type if you prefer.  But we always like to spice things up a bit.

1. Measure out your rice per person and rinse in a sieve or bowl of cold water. 
2. Boil your kettle.
3. Toast your spices in a dry saucepan for a few minutes.  Choose any combination of the following: 3-4 cloves, 3-4 cardamon pods, chunk cinnamon bark, some cumin seeds.  We usually stick to two spices. The spices should start smelling nice, but not burn.
4. Add the rice and boiled water.  Cook rice according to the package instructions. Some people add extra water and sieve later.  Some people follow the package instructions and measure the exact amount of water, which is then absorbed by the rice.   
5. If you are feeding this rice to children, try to remove the spices from the rice or their portions.  You can warn the adults there are spices in the dish.

For the Beans:

Tin of beans, (any kind, but we love pinto beans), rinsed and drained
small tin of chopped tomatoes, or 2-3 small fresh ones
1/2 tin coconut milk
carrot
sweet/bell pepper
onion
hot chilli (optional--since I don't like chilli, we leave it out and people can add hot sauce afterwards)

You can add other vegetables if you like.  We like mushrooms or green beans in this dish as well when we have them or they need using up!

1. Chop the onion and fry in a saucepan in a little bit of oil.  When soft, add chopped carrot and pepper, and any other vegetables, including chilli, if using.  Fry for 3-5 minutes to soften the vegetables.
2. Add the beans and the small tin of tomatoes with their juice and continue to cook over medium heat for ten minutes.
3. Add about half a tin of coconut milk and simmer for a further 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, just to heat through.  If you heat the coconut milk too long it will separate.
4. The vegetables and beans should be both hot and tender.
5. Serve with rice.
6. This keeps well for the next day as well. (Cook once, eat twice!)