Mombasa is a famous tourist destination in Kenya. This tropical East African city is best known for its fascinating attractions including historical sites, white sandy beaches (some of which have been ranked the best in Africa), and mouthwatering traditional Swahili dishes. Looking to try the dishes? If YES, below are the two restaurants to start with. No problem if you aren’t visiting Mombasa, because apart from the restaurants, I’ll be sharing a recipe for one of the most popular local Swahili dishes known as “Pilau”, which you can try at home. To that end, let’s get started with the first restaurant:
1. The Mikaye Restaurant
Offering dine-in, takeaway alongide delivery options, the Mikaye Restaurant is another choice eatery for Swahili dishes in the city of Mombasa. The 4.0-star restaurant is located in Nyali–an affluent suburb in Mombasa synonymous with middle-class city residents and foreigners. It lies along Links Road, just 7 minutes away from Nyali Beach. Since it’s quite popular around(thanks to its mouthwatering authentic dishes), a cab will easily take you there without any direction challenges.
As far as the menu goes, some of the tastiest Swahili dishes included in it are pilau(a Middle Eastern dish made of rice or wheat cooked in stock with spices, typically having added meat or seafood), Biryani(an Indian dish made with highly seasoned rice and meat), and mahamari(an Indian-inspired Swahili breakfast treat made up of mandazi cooked with coconut milk, almonds, ground peanuts, and other ingredients).
The Maharaja’s King Prawn Pilau with Cardamom & Cashews Recipe
Many different types of pilaus can be cooked, depending on the desired ingredients. One of them is the Maharaja’s king prawn pilau with cardamom and cashews being one of them. This is one of the simplest pilaus you can make for your family or guests, using ingredients that are pretty easy to source. And for those who are subscribers of Hello Fresh, you can order a meal kit that comes complete with the ingredients plus recipe to make this delectable Swahili delicacy. Here’s how to make the maharaja’s king prawn pilau with cardamom and cashews delicacy that serves four, using your Hello Fresh meal kit:
What You Will Need
i. 2 non-stick pan; large and medium.
ii. A knife.
iii. A source of heat.
iv. A peeler.
v. A grater.
vi. A medium bowl.
Ingredients
i. Enough rice for four eaters.
ii. 1 bunch of king prawns.
iii. 2 tbsp. Cashew nuts.
iv. 2 cups. sugar snap peas.
v. 2 tsp. ground coriander powder.
vi. 1 ginger.
vii. 2 cups.crushed cardamom pods.
viii. 2 garlic cloves.
ix. 2 onions.
x. 2 cups turmeric powder.
xi.1 bunch. coriander.
xii.1 lime.
xiii.1 red chili.
Ingredients not included in your meal kit;
i. 6 tbsp. cooking oil.
ii. Water.
iii. Salt.
Directions
Step 1: Prepare your ingredients;
i.Wash all your fresh produce.
ii. Peel and set the onions aside.
iii. Peel and set the garlic aside.
iv. Dice both the peeled onions and garlic very finely.
v. Cut the red chili in half lengthwise.
vi. Remove all the seeds from each pepper halve.
vii.Dice up each pepper halve very finely.
viii. Cut your sugar snap peas in half.
ix. Peel the ginger.
x. Dice the ginger very finely.
xi. Chop the coriander.
Step 2: Cook the ingredients;
i. Toast the cashews in the non-stick pan on medium heat until starting to brown off.
ii. Remove from the pan and set aside the cashews.
iii. Return the pan to heat and add 2 tbsp.oil together with 1 tsp.butter (optional) and heat over medium heat until hot enough.
iv. Add the onions and gently cook them until soft, or for about 3 minutes.
v. Add the ginger, garlic, ground coriander powder, turmeric powder plus chili, and cook the mixture on medium heat for about 3-4 mins.
vi. Add the rice and cook for about 3-4 minutes before adding water, and stirring in the crushed cardamom pods and salt to taste. Tip; the water should be double the amount of rice. For example, if you are cooking two cups of rice, add 4 cups of water.
vii. Cover the pot and bring the mixture to a boil on LOW heat for about 10 minutes.
viii. Remove from the heat and set aside the pot WITHOUT removing the lid.
ix. In the medium pan, heat 2 tbsp. oil on medium heat until hot enough.
x. Add and cook the sugar snap peas for about 3 minutes before transferring them to the bowl.
xi. Cut the prawns into pea-sized chunks.
xii. Add 2 tbsp. cooking oil to the same pan you used for the sugar snap peas and heat until hot enough.
xiii. Add the prawn chunks to the oil, followed by salt and pepper to taste, and let the chunks cook until they have just turned pink.
Step 3: Serve;
i. Serve the pilau(the rice you just cooked) onto individual plates.
ii. Top each plate with the prawn chunks, cashew nuts, sugar snap peas, and the chopped coriander.
xv. Finally, sprinkle each plate with a tbsp of lime juice and let people enjoy the meal while still warm enough.
Source: hellofresh.com
Hello Fresh
To make your king prawn pilau with cardamom and cashews hassle-free, just order the Hello Fresh meal kit for that. The kit comes with nearly all the ingredients plus the recipe you’ll need for this type of pilau. The only missing ingredients, which you’ll need to source separately are; cooking oil, salt, and pepper.
For those who don’t know much about HF, here is an in-depth post that nicely compares and contrasts it to another similar entity. The latter is called Home Chef. If you don’t find HF or HC appealing due to one reason or another, check out Sun Basket. It’s a good alternative to the former and the latter.
2.Mombasa Swahili Dishes
Another place to visit when you are looking to try a Swahili delicacy in Mombasa is the Mombasa Swahili Dishes restaurant. Often frequented by Western tourists, this 4.2-star restaurant is located along Haile Selassie Road, in the Mombasa town CBD. It’s just 3 minutes away from the Royal Court Hotel.
As far as the menu goes, MSD serves a wide range of Swahili dishes suitable for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. Plus, it offers plenty of options ideal for snacking. Some of the notable dishes include; halwa-puri(pooris served with halwa, Punjabi chole, and potato curry), masala chips, special reshmi kebab, and plain tandoori naan.
By the way, MSD offers dine-in, takeaway, and non-contact food delivery options. For those who do not have the time to visit the place, you can order and have your favorite Swahili dish delivered to your doorstep from the comfort of where you are.
When it comes to cost, this restaurant is fairly affordable compared to other restaurants in Mombasa that offer authentic Swahili dishes. Their prices range from 1 dollar to 8 dollars.
Notably, the dishes have a significant Indian influence, which is perfectly understandable. After all, the Swahili community came into existence as a result of the interbreeding between Asians and the local Bantu communities who lived in Mombasa in the early 17th century.
Final Thoughts
For those who love sampling exotic foods and drinks from different parts of the world, there’s no better city in East Africa to visit this time around than Mombasa. Known for its mouthwatering Swahili dishes and other magnificent attractions, the coastal city is home to a number of restaurants that offer luscious and authentic Swahili dishes such as pilau, mahamri, halwa-puri, plain tandoori naan, and special reshmi kebab. For those who are visiting Mombasa, you should start your food indulgence with the Mikaye and Mombasa Swahili Dishes restaurants. These are some of the best restaurants for Swahili dishes in town.
