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1
Boil the Maize and Peas Until Tender
15 Mins
Boil, about 100°C (212°F)
Put the fresh maize kernels and green peas in a large heavy pot with 1.2 L of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn down to a steady boil and cook for about 15 minutes, until the maize is tender. Fresh maize cooks fast — this is the step that keeps mukimo a weeknight dish, unlike the dried maize of githeri, which needs hours.
Use fresh or frozen kernels, never dried maize: dried maize needs an overnight soak and hours of boiling, and it belongs in githeri, not in a mash.
Done when: A maize kernel crushes easily when bitten, and a pea is soft all the way through.
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2
Add the Potatoes and Onion
20 Mins
Gentle boil, about 100°C (212°F)
Add the potato chunks and the chopped onion to the same pot, pushing them down into the water. Bring back to a gentle boil, cover with the lid slightly ajar, and cook for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are completely soft. Everything cooks in one pot — that is the whole point of mukimo.
Do not add the potatoes at the start: they would fall apart before the maize is tender, and the mash would turn watery.
Done when: A potato chunk falls apart when pressed with a fork, and the onion has melted into the water.
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3
Wilt the Pumpkin Leaves on Top
5 Mins
Steam, about 100°C (212°F)
Lay the chopped pumpkin leaves on top of the potatoes, put the lid back on, and let them steam in the heat of the pot for about 5 minutes. Do not stir them in yet — the leaves wilt quickly on top and keep their bright green colour that way.
If you are using spinach instead of pumpkin leaves, 3 minutes is enough — spinach wilts faster and loses its colour if it is boiled too long.
Done when: The leaves are wilted, dark green and soft, with no raw, stiff pieces left.
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4
Drain and Mash Everything Together
5 Mins
Hot, about 85°C (185°F)
Drain off almost all of the cooking water, leaving just a few spoonfuls in the pot. Now mash — this is the step that makes mukimo mukimo. Pound everything together with a potato masher or a sturdy wooden spoon until the potatoes are crushed, the maize and peas are pounded into the mash, and the greens marble through the whole pot. Keep going until it is soft and evenly green-flecked, with no whole kernels left standing.
Mash while everything is still hot and steaming: cold potatoes resist the masher and turn lumpy. If the mash feels stiff, add a spoonful of the reserved cooking water, not more oil.
Done when: The pot is one soft, green-flecked mash that holds its shape on a spoon — no whole maize kernels, no separate potato chunks, no dry patches.
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5
Finish with Spring Onion, Oil and Salt
5 Mins
Low heat, about 70°C (160°F)
Stir in the sliced spring onions and the tablespoon of oil, then add the salt and mash once more, briefly, to mix everything through. Taste and adjust the salt. Take the pot off the heat and rest it for 5 minutes before serving so the mash firms up just enough to hold its shape.
Salt goes in at the end, not at the start: salted boiling water toughens the maize skins and slows the cooking. Taste after mashing — the greens and peas dull salt more than you expect.
Done when: The mash is soft, glossy and evenly green, with the spring onion flecked through it and the salt balanced.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Rest the mash for 5 minutes off the heat so it firms up just enough to hold its shape on the plate. Spoon it into warm bowls or onto plates in generous mounds — it should be soft and green-flecked, never stiff — and serve at once with your stew or nyama choma alongside.
Kenya
1h 15m
