the confined nomad

Bordering Rwanda and plagued by similar, simmering ethnic tensions that have led to years of political strife and civil war, Burundi is one the poorest nations on earth.  Despite also having one of the highest rates of emigration, we were unable to locate a Burundian restaurant in the New York metropolitan area.  So, we once again cooked at home.

Burundian cuisine is heavily dependent on staple crops like sweet potatoes, corn, and beans.  Meat intake is very low by Western standards.  The cooking itself was not difficult at all, but time-consuming because the main ingredients, notably beans and bulgur wheat, had to be soaked for a number of hours.

The first recipe we made was the appropriately named plantains and beans.  This dish consisted of green plantains and kidney beans cooked to mushiness with a bit of chili pepper and onion.  It was a hearty side, with the plantains adding a delicate sweetness to massive amounts of beans.

The most interesting part of he meal was the  boko boko, which translates roughly to “chicken-flavored wheat.”  The Burundian version of an East African and Arab dish known elsewhere as harees, this was essentially a bulghur wheat porridge with chicken, made richer tasting by the inclusion of ghee.  It didn’t look particularly appetizing, sitting on our plates as a heaping of brown mush, but boko boko is spiced up with a dressing of turmeric, onion, and chopped chicken gizzards.  This was plain, simple food meant to fill you up and last for a while.  We had this stuff in our fridge for a week and combined it in lunches with every other leftover we made.  It made an awesome base for vegetables and would stand up readily to hearty soups.

Gizzards and Ghee = Yummy!

Finally, we also made anise bread, which was apparently introduced to Burundi by the Belgians, who colonized the region.  This was a simple leavened bread of whole wheat, one egg and a whisper of anise.

In the end, we agreed that while Burundian cuisine wasn’t the most exciting food in the world, it provided us with all of the nutrients we might need.  Boko boko, served from the communal porridge dish leant a sense of community and fulfillment to the evening, and we happily waddled away from the table when we finished.

Give boko-boko a try sometime, and let us know what you think!

Boko boko (Chicken Flavored Wheat)

3 cups whole or half ground bulghur wheat
3 chicken breasts
water, as needed
2 onions, minced
1 tsp salt

Sauce
6 tsp ghee (clarified butter – you can get this at S. Asian and African markets)
3 cleaned chicken gizzards or 6 chicken hearts, diced
1 small onion, sliced finely
1 tsp salt
3 tbs turmeric
3 tbs sugar

Soak bulghur in water to cover for 3 hours

In large saucepan, place the bulghur, chicken breasts, minced onion, 1 tsp of salt and the soaking water (if any left) topped up to three cups of water. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Add more water if needed.

Remove the chicken breasts, shred, and return to bulghur with half the ghee. Simmer until mixture has thickened to a paste. The consistency should be like a thick but still pourable porridge. Add hot water if necessary.

Meanwhile prepare the sauce in a separate pan. Simmer 1 tsp of salt, chicken gizzards, turmeric, 2 cups of water, and 3 tablespoons sugar for 30-40 minutes or until gizzards are tender. Reserve.

In a frying pan, heat the remaining ghee and fry the sliced onion until caramelized.

Top each serving with the onions and sauce.

Tags: African cuisine, Burundi, food, recipe

This entry was posted on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 8:48 am and is filed under B, Burundi. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.