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Matumbo
Matumbo: Nairobi tripe boiled tender, then fried with onion, tomato, chilli and dhania
Nairobi's office workers and matatu crews know which roadside hoteli does the best matumbo, and they queue for it at lunchtime with a mound of ugali on the side. The tripe is boiled until it is soft but still has a gentle bounce, then cut into strips and fried hard with onion, tomato and green chilli so the edges catch and the sauce turns thick and peppery. Buy cleaned (dressed) beef tripe from a butcher: the white, honeycomb kind has already been scalded and scraped, which you should not attempt at home. Even cleaned tripe needs a thorough wash and a long simmer, and cutting it before it is tender is the usual mistake, because it then stays rubbery however long you fry it. Chef's tip: add a squeeze of lemon and a chopped onion to the boiling water; they freshen the smell in the kitchen and leave the tripe tasting clean.
- Total time
- 120 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For boiling
- 2 ¼ lb cleaned (dressed) beef tripefrom a butcher, already scalded and scraped
- 1 onionhalved
- 1 lemonhalved
- 2 tsp salt
For the fry
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 red onionsthinly sliced
- 4 cloves garliccrushed
- 1 tbsp fresh gingergrated
- 2 green chilliesfinely chopped
- 3 ripe tomatoeschopped
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 handful fresh coriander (dhania)chopped
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Rinse 2 ¼ lb cleaned (dressed) beef tripe under cold running water, rubbing it between your hands and turning it over, until the water runs clear and there is no grit in the folds. Trim off any fatty bits or dark patches.
Step 3: Lower the heat, half-cover and simmer gently until a knife slides through the thickest part with almost no resistance. Top up with boiling water if it gets low. (In a pressure cooker, 40–45 minutes at full pressure.)
90 minStep 4: Drain, discard the onion and lemon, and let the tripe cool for a few minutes. Cut it into strips about 1 cm wide and 5 cm long.
Step 5: Heat 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a wide pan over a medium-high heat. Add the tripe strips and fry, stirring now and then, until they start to crisp and turn golden at the edges.
8 minStep 6: Add 2 red onions, 4 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp fresh ginger and 2 green chillies and fry until the onions are soft and golden.
5 minStep 7: Stir in 3 ripe tomatoes, 1 tsp ground black pepper and the rest of ½ tsp salt. Cook over a medium heat, stirring, until the tomatoes collapse into a thick sauce that clings to the tripe.
6 minStep 8: Taste: it should be peppery, a little hot and well salted. Stir in 1 handful fresh coriander (dhania) and serve hot with ugali and kachumbari.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 9 g
- Fat
- 19 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does matumbo take?
- About 120 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 100 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of lemon?
- Lime, or 2 tbsp bottled lemon juice per lemon (no zest from bottled juice).
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