Posted by Bilha Mutuola, Nakuru, Kenya:
“With this first loan I have bought a cooker and increased my menu , initially I was serving few variety of food , but since now I have some extra cash I will increase the menu to serve more customers..
Many people are going g back to traditional food. I intend to bring a cook from the rural area who will come and train my current cook so that they can start serving more traditional meals.I will keep you posted as I start investing into the business…
Business is such an interesting area , especially if you have the right skills and experience . i have been running this business for the last one year , and i can see myself now taking off. With the help of Zidisha Organization and the good people the lenders; I see my self going well in this business…
Hello friends and lenders. It is yet another day when I need to reflect and also inform you what I have been up to in the business world am undertaking. I have been readjusting the business to reflect on my new theme which is ‘Going back to my roots’. Am rebranding and even changing the name of my business to reflect the above theme.
I have done the following in order to attract more and even new customers.
1. As I have said I have rebranded my business and even given it a new name,’ African pot’, This is intention , so that my customers can know that the food which is served is based on the African theme. Many people have been keen to try this type of food; the only issue has been where to find it.
2. I was lucky, since I was able to get a cook, who knows a how to cook African dishes. It was not easy, as most of the cooks who can cook Africans dishes are few and very expensive to hire. Indeed this particular cook is a relative of mine, so we have come into some understanding in terms of payment. Payment will be progressive as the business picks up.
3. This has been the most difficult part, getting the right ingredients for the African dishes .it has some time taken us to do some research in order to be able to get the right ingredient s. But again luckily, we have made progress. In Nakuru most hotels, which are small, specializes in fast foods, but I want to go a step further and give the ideal African dishes.
4. Although, my main area is to serve African dishes, am still serving the fast foods to sublimate with the traditional African dishes, since the business has not yet picked.”
Lender Kilmeny comments on Aug 25, 2013:
“Hello from Winnipeg, Canada – I have been enjoying reading about your restaurant plans. So far the only Kenyan food I have tried has been some mandazi that I made myself. There is no where in my city where you can go to eat East African food! I think it is too cold for a lot of people from Kenya to want to live here. Anyway, I liked the mandazi, so I am wondering what I should try making next. Could you suggest a simple dish? Thank-you and I also wanted to add that I think having a relative agree to work for you with progressive wages is brillant planning!”
bilha mutola comments on Aug 29, 2013:
“Hello friend, Kilmeny,
Sorry that i had to delay for few days to communicate to you. I was a bit busy to the extend i was not able to come to the net right away. I do not think, that Canada is so cold for us from East Africa to live . Some time this side of Africa it can become quite cold, though not below 10 degrees C.You sound as if you have been to East Africa , where in particular have you visited ?. Am from Kenya , in a town called Nakuru. It has a population of around half a million people. If you are interested i can send you some pictures of our beautiful birds , animals and people and the environment.
I come from the western part of Kenya, though am running my business in Nakuru. I come from Luhya tribe , whose staple food is ugali and either greens or beef or chicken .Ugali can also be eaten accompanied by friend eggs.
I will teach you how to prepare some ugali and friend egg.
One, you put water in a pan , if you are alone one or two cups will do , boil it , then add maize flour , at the same time stirring , continue adding the flour until it becomes a bit hard. All this time the cooker should not have very hot flame. Let it burn for a round five minutes until you start smelling some slight burnt flour. Then you are ready to serve. In another pan , put oil , onions , let then fry for one minute , then add tomatoes and any other spicy you like. There after , crush in one or two eggs . Fry for three minutes then you are ready to serve.
This is a simple , easy to make meal , any body can eat . I can give you more menus, if you are interested.
I also would wish to hear from you, especially about your type of foods.
Thanks and may God bless , you. Talk soon, bye”
bilha mutola comments on Aug 30, 2013
“Dear Kilmeny ,
I hope you checked on the menu I send you about an African menu ,the so called ugali and egg menu. There are some few things I forgot to tell you namely ,the ugali can be served either hot or it can be left to cool for few minutes especially if you are serving young ones. Two, some people do spice the ugali so that it tastes a bit different or to make the young ones like it . As you know ,some time if the meal is dull , some kids may not like it to eat. Last but not least about ugali ,is that it can be eaten accompanied by so many other meals. One is not limited on what to eat it with. It all depends on you.
Today I want ,yet to teach you how to cook another traditional meal, how to prepare yams. I hope you there in Canada you can get yams. So get the yams, clean them ,by running a lot of water over them so that soil can be removed from them, peel them and cut them into small pieces. then boil , with little water , do not put a lot of water otherwise they will become soggy , also do not boil them for along time they will also become soggy. After ten minutes remove from the cooker and drain the water .
In another pan , take onions fry them until they turn golden brown while the tomatoes should turn to a paste. Then get the yams and lower them into the mixture and reduce the heat . it should take another ten minutes , then remove from the heat.
They are now ready to be eaten. They can be served with either boiled rice , spaghetti or bread. While some people can eat the yams just like that without any accompaniment . It can be garnished with coriander or parsley.
I hope this menu goes well with you. Am also welcoming others to try the recipe . Bye for now
Good day.”
