Nyama choma

Nyama choma (Koroga Festival at Nairobi).

The nyama choma is a specialty of grill or barbecued goat meat. Roasted meat is very popular in Tanzania and Kenya, where it is considered the national dish. The expression nyama choma means "barbecue meat" in Kiswahili. Nyama choma gatherings are informal with people convening around an open fire for any special occasion and at any occasion with a grill. Thus it is a social custom in much of Eastern Africa.

Preparation

Nyama choma traditions are very different from that of a barbecue, even if the method of food preparation is much similar. In Kenya, goat meat is preferred, but beef is also used. Wood and charcoal is seen as the best method to cook the meat as compared to gas grills.

For authentic nyama choma, salt and pepper are added, sometimes the meat is marinated first in a mixture of onions, garlic and ground ginger, with some hot pepper and lemon juice.

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Consumption

It is available in both roadside inns and larger restaurants. It is traditionally eaten with hands.

The side dishes are varied, but the most classic are salad kachumbari and ugali.

Bibliography

• Juliana Letara, James MacGregor et Ced Hesse, Estimating the Economic Significance of Pastoralism: The example of the « nyama choma » sector in Tanzania, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), Edinburgh, November 2006, 20 p. [lire en ligne].
• Coco Wiseman, « Nyama choma (Kenyan grilled meat) », in African Cookbook: Coco Cooks Kenya, Springwood emedia ISBN 9781301841554.

Annexes

• Braai