Tales from the Bush Larder

For more information on Tales From the Bush Larder log onto: www.zuku.co.ke/bushlarder

Episode 6

Location: South Coast (Diani)

Palm wine, or ‘mnazi’ is a notoriously persuasive alcoholic beverage made largely on Kenya’s south coast. Therefore, it makes sense that our intrepid chef would want to use it! Kiran hangs out with local ‘experts’ of mnazi, goes on an uncomfortable trawl for prawns in a river and  heads north to Mombasa, where a bustling spice market provides him with some wonderful culinary treasures. Back on Diani beach, Kiran and his ‘mnazi’ pals enjoy his prawn-based, alcoholic effort.

Restaurant Dish: Pan Seared Buttered Prawns with Manzi Dim Sum and pernod cream

 

 

Episode 5

Location: Western Kenya (Kisumu)

Kiran heads west to Obama country, visiting a small peanut farm and picking green bananas, otherwise known as Matoke. Kiran then rows across Africa’s ‘inland sea’, Lake Victoria, and endures a ferocious lightning storm whilst fishing for Omena and other species of fish. With a plethora of interesting ingredients, Kiran cooks up a wildly inventive dish!

Restaurant Dish: Butter Poached Tilapia over Matoke Gnocchi Putanesca with Omena

Tales From the Bush Larder: Kisumu from Eat Out Kenya on Vimeo.

Episode 4

Location: Embu (Mwea)

Kiran travels to Kenya’s vast and productive rice paddies in Embu, where he tries ‘surfing’ cows, and harvesting and de-husking the fragrant rice. To preserve each crops growth and quality, Kiran joins ‘sharpshooter’, Dhruv and ‘tracker’ John on a duck hunt, picking off a variety of fowl that scavenge the land. The resulting dish is appropriately Asian inspired (and delicious to boot!).

Restaurant Dish: Slow roasted stuffed Goose with a wild rice, date and apricot stuffing and maple juice

Episode 3

 

Location: Naivasha

In search of Louisiana Crayfish, a plaguing American import, Kiran heads to the stunning mirror lake in Naivasha and learns how to ensnare the flavorsome little critters. Leaving the waters behind our chef visits one of Kenya’s most prolific wineries to sample their latest stock. A perfect synergy of Crayfish cooked in (and drank with!) copious amounts of white wine comes as a huge surprise to Kiran and his new friends.

Tales From The Bush Larder Naivasha from Eat Out Kenya on Vimeo.

Restaurant Dish: Lasagna of Naivasha Crayfish with crispy vine leaves and a roasted garlic cream

Episode 2

Location: Machakos (Kamba Land)

In Machakos Kiran investigates a legendary technique to trap Guinea Fowl, Kenya’s equivalent to wild chicken. The complex process involves getting stung by wild African honeybees, preparing an incredibly potent honey beer, and eventually self ‘marinating’ the Guinea Fowl from the inside. Not surprisingly the combination of sweet honey and game meat produces a spectacular dish (and in the process, a makeshift pressure cooker!).

Restaurant Dish: New York Style Cheesecake with Maweli Honey trap and guinea fowl egg fig ice cream

Tales from the Bush Larder Machakos – Guinea Fowl & Honey Beer from Eat Out Kenya on Vimeo.

 

Episode 1

Location: Malindi

In the first episode of the series, chef Kiran Jethwa travels to the beautiful northern Kenyan coastal town of Malindi where he discovers how to make traditional mandazis (Kenyan doughnuts!), collects tamarind with the help of a fearless girl with a real head for heights, and finally catches a batch of monstrous mud crabs with charismatic father/son duo, Jacob and Peter. Kiran combines these three main ingredients to make tasty and exciting

Crab Dishes

Tales From The Bush Larder Malindi from Eat Out Kenya on Vimeo.