Halala Mama

Sukuma Wiki is Swahili for “stretch the week.”  In a region where poverty and hunger are rampant, East Africans do indeed need to stretch the week in order to make their food last.  Greens are an easy, inexpensive, and nutritious way to do this.

Any type of green will work – mustard, turnip, collard, or even spinach – and they are prepared in a much healthier way than in the American South.

Sukuma Wiki

• 2 large bunches of greens (I don’t use spinach because it cooks down too much.  We prefer collards).
• 2 large onions chopped
• 2 cups of diced tomatoes (I used two cans, but fresh is preferable.)
• Oil
• Spices to taste

• Rinse greens and remove the large vein that runs through the middle. You can do this by running a sharp knife down either side of the vein.  When done they should look like this:

• Lay greens flat.  Take a large bunch and roll tightly into a cylindar shape.
• Using a knife or a mandolin slicer, shred the greens until they are in small strips:

• Heat oil in large pot, add onions and cook until translucent.
• Add tomatoes and cook for about five minutes until they cook down somewhat and produce some juice.
• Add cilantro and spices.  I used cumin, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Feel free to use any combination you prefer.
• Add shredded greens and incorporate with tomato mixture.
• Cover and let the greens steam, stirring often.
• The greens will wilt producing their own juice as they cook down.  If they seem too dry you can add a little stock or water to the pan, but it really doesn’t take much.
• Heat over medium for at least 15 minutes.  You can leave them longer over low heat, but check for burning.

East Africans will often serve these with Ugali, a boiled cornmeal mixture, and stew.  We ate them with broiled Tilapia.  There isn’t one special thing about the fish, so I won’t bore you with how it came to be on the plate as well:

Even though my husband is West African, he still enjoys this meal.  We eat them with roasted chicken and he often cooks the meat right in there with the greens and then serves it on rice.

It’s a great, healthy way to enjoy summer produce.

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