What's Cooking?

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

It seemed as if the only major event of Tuesday was going to be Mary Lou’s first solo walk to and from downtown. She had been studying the Arusha city map for almost a week and following each route we took whenever we went anywhere with Ray. So, her venture today was in effect her graduation from relying on John to guide her as she ventures out in the neighborhood and into downtown. The only problem that arose on her walk was a downpour, which trapped her under a wall overhang for about half an hour on her way home down Kinissa Road. Here at Kundayo, not very far away, we had only a light shower.

Our normal afternoon activities included doing more hand laundry, reading, downloading photos, and then deciding to cook some lentil soup with the yellow lentils I had bought from the shopkeeper on our walk on Monday. I picked out all the dried corn kernels which had somehow gotten mixed into my lentils, rinsed them as usual, and put them in a pot with water to cook. After about 45 minutes, I checked to see if the lentils were getting soft, but they weren’t. I waited a while longer to check them again, and while they had swelled in size, they were definitely not soft. I also noticed that they were not round, but more bean-shaped. After 4 hours of simmering them, I turned off the pot in frustration.

Mama dressed for greeting the neighbors.

Mama Kundayo was out by the gate, greeting and chatting with the neighbors who passed by. I greeted her, and she said she’d be back in her usual spot to chat with me in an hour, or at 6:00. Well, 6:00 came and went and there was no sign of Mama, so I made dinner, and we sat down to eat. Just after we had finished our meal, Mama showed up and sat down for a short greeting time. I decided to ask her what was wrong with my lentils and got the pot to show her what was in it after 4 hours of cooking. She tasted the lentils and broth, and while she liked the broth, she was not positive about the still crunchy legumes—obviously not really lentils. And so the fun began.

Mama yelled loudly for the Kundayo cook and his assistant to come and check out what was in my pot. Immanuel, the concierge, also showed up, and the three composed a “committee” of tasters. They examined and ate some of the pot’s contents and said they didn’t know exactly what I had been cooking because it didn’t look like the beans they use in their bean stew. When I asked if it could be chicken feed, they just laughted. During all of this Mama kept interjecting comments until finally the chef asked if he could take the “soup” and run it through the bender in his kitchen. Of course, I agreed to this, and we soon heard a loud grinding noise in the next building. Then, the two cooks reappeared carrying a pot of purée, which upon being tasted by the “committee” was declared “nzuri sana,” very good. After their final judgement, Mama and the other taste testers dismissed themselves. Immanuel said he would visit the grain shop and find out what I had bought since it certainly was not lentils. I hadn’t laughed so much and so hard in a long time.

Trying to figure out exactly what I was cooking and why it was still hard after 4 hours.

The lovely purée made in Kundayo's blender

The final tasting at which the soup was declared very good.