Chapati and Beans 

Happy new Year dear readers! We are starting off the year with great comfort food.  
​If you live in East Africa, then you  most certainly have eaten the hearty tasty combination that is chapati and beans. We even have a slang term for it: Kikomando.  I cannot count the many times I have had kikomando for supper after long days of work with no desire to cook.  Guilty I know! 

But let’s be honest guys,  flaky soft chapatis doused in a rich creamy bean stew with possibly a side of velvety avocado is what dreams are made of. The definition of comfort food. I could go on and on but I am just going to let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Today I am sharing the recipe for the bean stew. Because I  figured it will require a separate blog post for the chapati. I am also seriously considering making a video of the chapati recipe.  Let me know in the comments below if a video is what you would prefer. 

After cooking beans for as long as I can remember, some of the basic rules to get the best bean stew are:

1. Make sure the beans a preboiled  till soft and tender.  
2. Don’t discard the water( stock?) used to boil the beans.  It will help thicken the stew.
3. A slow simmer always produces the best stew with cream on top! 

What you will need: 

2 C. Beans, boiled and drained

2 C.  Bean stock (the water used to boil them)

2 Large tomatoes, diced

1 Large onion diced 

1 Clove of garlic, crushed 

Salt and pepper 

Palm oil (the orange kind) 

Method 

Place pan on high heat. Add the oil and onions. Let the onions fry till translucent. Add the tomatoes.  Let them cook till tender. Keep stirring to avoid burning. Add the beans, salt and pepper and keep stirring. Next add the bean stock.  And let it boil.  Once it has boiled,  reduce the fire and let the stew simmer down till almost all the water is reduced to half and has thickened well.  Remove from fire and serve with your delicious chapati. 

Have you ever tried this amazing combo?  

Also do you think I should do a recipe video for chapati?