Hawa Hassan’s Sukuma Wiki Recipe
We’re always trying to think of ways to make our greens taste more flavorful and exciting. Cue Somali chef and professional flavor enhancer Hawa Hassan, founder of small batch condiments company Basbaas and author of East African recipe book In Bibi’s Kitchen. Her revered 75-recipe cookbook weaves together culinary narratives belonging to various bibis aka grandmothers from eight African countries along the Indian Ocean.
For this edition of Dandy Plates, we were lucky enough to get this simple and delicious Sukuma Wiki greens recipe from Hawa to try out at home. What we love the most about this recipe is that you can use any greens of your choice—be it collard greens, spinach, kale, etc—and most of the ingredients are likely already in your pantry! Low effort, big gains-—it’s a rarity.
“These well-seasoned greens are similar to collards, which are popular in the American South with their fragrant potlikker and are a reminder of the undeniably deep threads that tie together African and African American cooking. Sukuma wiki means “to stretch the week”—in other words, using these greens, which are affordable and readily available, can help stretch any meal a bit further. Greens are a staple in Kenyan cooking and in most East African cooking in general. Serve this dish with rice for a traditional, healthy and completely vegan meal.” — Hawa Hassan
INGREDIENTS
SERVES 4
2 tablespoons canola oil
1large yellow onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
2large tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1pound kale and/or collards(or any dark leafy greens), tough stems discarded, coarsely chopped
Kosher salt
½ cup water
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
DIRECTIONS
Warm the oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot set over medium heat. Add the onion, cumin, coriander, and turmeric, and cook, stirring, until the onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, greens, a large pinch of salt, and water. Stir everything well to combine, cover, and simmer until the greens are very tender and soft—about 15 minutes.
Turn off the heat, stir in the lemon juice, season the greens to taste with salt and serve immediately. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a few days and rewarmed in a heavy pot over low heat.
Photo Credit: Liz Clayman