Traditional Food of the Kikuyu People of Kenya
The Kikuyu of Kenya and what they Ate
The Kikuyu were a mixed farming community. Their diet was mainly from agricultural produce. They kept cattle and goats, but mainly for ritual purposes and as a currency for the purchase of goods and the payment of dowry. They therefore ate meat during ceremonies that required the slaughter of a goat or cow, and not just because someone had not eaten meat for a long time. Like in the Maasai community, the Kikuyu were forbidden from eating wild animals. It was also taboo to eat birds like chickens and ducks. However, these taboos did not apply to uncircumcised boys, and families adopted from communities that had no qualms about eating the forbidden animals. For example, Ndorobo Kikuyus were known as 'Athi,' a term that translates as 'hunters,' among other meanings. They, therefore, were free to eat the produce of their labour, but no self-respecting Kikuyu would have eaten an antelope, a hare, fish, or even a chicken. Meat was therefore rare in the Kikuyu diet in early times. I have heard the elderly say that when a family ate meat, they used the animal's fat to smear their legs so everybody who saw the shiny legs would know.
Things are very different today. The Kikuyu eat all kinds of meat, including the previously despised fish and pork. Their mixed farming now includes poultry, rabbits, and even fish farming. The only animal that is yet to be domesticated by a Kikuyu is the camel.
Below is a description of Kikuyu traditional foods.
Cereals used by the Kikuyu
- maize (Zea mays) mbembe
- maize flour (Zea mays) Mũtu wa mbembe
LSB Leakey, in his book on the Southern Kikuyu, states that an old man told him his father would not eat maize because it was not a Kikuyu food. Maize was introduced to Africa by the Portuguese at the coast.
- bullrush millet flour (Pennisetum americanum) Mũtu wa mwere
- finger millet flour (Eleusine coracane) Mũtu wa ũgimbi
- sorghum flour (Sorghum bicolor) Mũtu wa mũhĩa
Apart from the maize that was boiled, roasted, or served in a mixture with beans (githeri) as a meal, the rest were used as flours for porridge. It is believed that a porridge is more nutritious when it is a mixture of as many cereals as possible, including a bit of maize flour. Flour mixed with water is allowed to sit for several days to ferment. It is believed that adding maize flour hastens the fermentation process. The product of this process is very tasty. When not fermented, lemons are added to give an alternative flavour. In the old days, sugar was not used in porridge. People had a choice between bicarbonate of soda, salt, or nothing. Interestingly, this soda was added to practically every boiling dish, apparently to hasten the cooking process.
Soda ash is the chemical sodium carbonate. It is an antacid that neutralises stomach acids. Sodium is essential for good health. It helps to maintain electrolytes in the body, helps nerve tissue to transmit impulses and helps muscles to expand and contract normally.
It should be noted that sodium, which is the main compound in common salt, has health disadvantages when taken in large amounts.
Legumes Used by the Kikuyu
- cowpea, (Vigna spp.) thoroko
- green mung bean, (Phaseolus aureus) ndengũ; thuu
- kidney bean, (Phaseolus vulgaris) mboco
- lima bean, (Phaseolus lunatus) noe
- pigeon pea, (Cajanus cajan) njũgũ
- bonavist bean (Lablab niger) njahĩ
Njahi are prized as a nutritious food for nursing mothers. People tell a nursing mother that ‘ninguka kuria njahi’ – I will come to eat Njahi, the real meaning being that I will soon come to see the new baby.
Archaeological evidence shows that about 3500 years ago it was under cultivation in parts of India, from where it found its way into Africa. It was taken from the Congo to the Caribbean by the colonialists and is known as the ‘congo bean’ or ‘ungo bean’ over there.
The Kikuyu use all the above legumes either;
1. in a mashed up of bananas, maize, and sometimes a green vegetable and served with a stew. Irish potatoes often replace the bananas.
2. Mixed with maize as an alternative to ‘Maize and beans’—githeri
Flavors of Africa by Evi Aki brings together culinary heritage from across the continent—making it a thoughtful companion to any discussion on Kikuyu foodways. While our fermented ucuru and roasted maize may not all appear within its pages, this book offers a Pan-African context that honours shared techniques, communal cooking, and storytelling through meals.
- Generational classics: From Nigerian Jollof Rice to Eritrean lentils with berbere spice
- Modern twists: Inspired recreations of street foods like Zanzibar Pizza
- Stories behind the meals: Family-rooted, memory-rich narratives that stir more than appetites
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*Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This supports my work in preserving and sharing African foodways and memory—one plate at a time.*
Tubers Used by the Kikuyu
- cassava (Manihot esculenta) mwanga(singular); mĩanga (plural)
- green banana (Musa paradisiacal) irigũ(s); marigũ(p)
- potato, sweet (Ipomoea batatas) ngwacĩ
- yam (Dioscorea spp.) gĩkwa(s); ikwa(p)
Taro (Colocasia esculenta) Ndũma
The Ndũma tuber was a delicacy among the Kikuyu.
This plant belongs to the Araceae (Arum) family. In west Africa it is called cocoyam, though it is not a yam. Yams are vines, while Ndũma is a lily. It is also called kolocasi, ocumo, arum lily, and dasheen in the Caribbean region. This plant is known as Ndũma among many of Kenya’s Bantu speakers.
Every Kikuyu family had a Kianda – a flooded patch in a valley where Ndũma were grown. The water would be supplied by a slow-moving stream. Sometimes a family walked for three hours or more to their kianda at a patch allocated to them by relatives. To harvest the tuber, the soil around the base is loosened and the entire plant is pulled out. The corm is cut off with a knife, leaving a small portion to hold the leaves together. This small leftover corm is returned to the soil and a fresh corm develops from it. Virgin corms are sharp pointed but secondary corms are flat at the bottom, giving the impression of a drum. Ndũma tubers are rich in amylase, a soluble starch, potassium, and carotene.
How the Kikuyu Serve Ndũma
When my grandmother got word that I would be visiting from Nairobi, she went to the Kianda—a low-lying flooded garden patch. There she would harvest five or more tubers. Back home, she placed about three of them in the hot ash of her cooking hearth and left them there to bake for an hour or so. When they were removed from the hot ash, they had developed a hard, thick skin. This skin was scraped lightly with a knife to remove the ash and burnt sections to leave a greyish-white cover. The hard cover was removed to reveal a steaming hot, baked, flaky mass. Both the cake and the baked mass were very nice to eat with a cup of tea. It was the equivalent of cake but with no additives, not even salt. People in rural areas who use a three-stone hearth still prepare Ndũma in this way.
The Kikuyu also boiled Ndũma and ate them as a snack or a meal. Stews were not traditionally made and have been learnt in the last century. The Ndũma was therefore eaten as a dry food.
The leaf is a vegetable that is used in mashed dishes of bananas, potatoes with beans, chicken peas, or cow peas. In my grandmother’s days, the mashed meal would be made into balls, which were served by using the Ndũma leaf as a plate.
Ndũma leaves are rich in vitamins A and C and protein and are said to have the same nutritional value as spinach.
Non traditional methods of preparing Ndũma
You can fry Ndũma mixed with bananas or Irish potatoes. The Irish potato was introduced to the Kikuyu in colonial times. Sweet potatoes were boiled or roasted just like Ndũma. Today, however, it is common to see a meal of Ndũma and Ngwaci (sweet potato) mixed and fried together, then served with a meat or vegetable stew.
Note that since Kikuyu’s largely ate boiled food, any cooking with as much as a teaspoonful of cooking fat or oil is said to be fried. Gukaranga (frying) usually means that a little cooking oil or fat has been allowed to heat. Onion, tomatoes, and the main dish are then added in that order. Since the oil may be too little to sustain the frying, a little water is added at a later stage with continuous stirring to stop the food from sticking to the sides. Many people use curry powder for extra seasoning.
Today, manufacturers are making crisps, packing them in plastic bags, and selling them in supermarkets.
Ndũma are available in all food markets in Kenya and all supermarkets that stock fresh farm produce.
Known as taro, Ndũma was the staple of Hawaiians who make poi, a fermented or sometimes unfermented paste from the tuber. They lived almost exclusively on this food, and early explorers found the people to be very healthy and robust.
This neglected food is grown in some countries in plantations. For Kikuyus, it was and still is more of a delicacy and is not grown with any seriousness.
This is very healthy food. If it is available in your locality, use it as an alternative to bread for breakfast. Use it also as an alternative to Irish potatoes.
Beware of those grown in the outskirts of Nairobi. They may have been irrigated with raw sewage water.
What other ways do you use Ndũma?
Vegetables used by the Kikuyu
Amaranth (Amaranthus spp.) terere
The amaranth was most likely introduced by the Portuguese since it is a South American weed.
- bonavist bean, leaves nyeni cia macahĩ
- cowpea leaves, nyeni cia mathoroko
- kidney bean leaves, nyeni cia maboco
- leaves, pumpkin nyeni cia marenge
- pumpkin irenge; marenge
Sugarcane as used by the Kikuyu
Every Kikuyu household had endeavoured to have a sugarcane plantation. This was an important crop for making beer. There were many instances when a man had an obligation to make beer for ritual purposes. This included marriage negotiations. The canes were harvested and pounded into a pulp. This pulp was then squeezed to get the sugary pulp. The pulp was then used to make a valuable beer. Among the things that could be demanded by the bride's family were several large gourds of cane beer. This was besides what would naturally be served to the negotiating teams.
Though there is no evidence to show that the Kikuyu could make sugar crystals, they had a saying that 'mũrĩo ũninaga magego'—too' much 'sweet' will destroy your teeth. Perhaps they had learnt this from chewing sugar cane, or eating too much honey.
Preserving Kikuyu memory takes time, care, and community support.
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