COOKING WITH KARZ: Fish ugali and sukuma wiki

Fish is never shy, darling. It comes out glistening, fresh, wet and ready to soak up whatever you rub onto it.

A little oil, a squeeze of lemon, a tease of spices and suddenly, it’s begging for the pan. When it hits that hot oil, the sizzle is obscene, skin crackling, juices bubbling, aroma filling the room like a lover’s heavy breath. Every turn in the pan makes it wetter, hotter, golden and dripping with desire.

Ugali is the strong, hot backbone, stiff and unyielding, waiting to scoop and hold everything together. Firm in your hand, steaming, thick, obedient. It’s the solid embrace that lets you take the heat of the fish without losing control.

And then sukuma wiki slides in, wild, green, unapologetic. It wriggles in oil with onions, softening into silky ribbons, still holding that sharp edge that bites your tongue.

Sukuma is the dirty tease, earthy, raw, never too polished, but it keeps you coming back for another mouthful.

Together, it’s obscene. The wet, juicy fish, the stiff ugali, the wild sukuma, in your mouth all at once. It’s messy, it’s primal, it’s pleasure you can taste and lick off your lips. This isn’t dinner, darling, it’s a threesome on a plate.

TIPS

• Always rub your fish like you mean it. The more love you give it, the wetter and tastier it gets
• Don’t rush the frying, let it sizzle and pop. Messy is sexy
• Eat with your hands, ugali is meant to be grabbed, squeezed, dipped, make it dirty
• Feed each other the fish, lick the juices if they drip, that’s the fun part

WARNINGCareful, this dish is pure sin. Once they taste your wet fish and firm ugali, they’ll want your hands feeding them forever. Serve it twice and they might just start asking for dessert, if you know what I mean.

INGREDIENTS

For fish

• 2 whole tilapia, cleaned
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic grated
• 1 tsp ginger grated
• Salt to taste
• Just enough oil for frying

for ugali

• 3 cups maize flour
• 4 cups water

Sukuma

• 1 bunch sukuma wiki chopped
• 1 onion sliced
• 2 tbsp oil
• Salt to taste

METHOD

For fish

1. Rub the fish all over with lemon, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper. Massage it slow, let it soak, let it get slippery with flavour.
2. Heat oil until it’s hot and ready. Slide the fish in, listen to it moan and sizzle as the skin crackles. Flip gently, let both sides get golden, wet and dripping with juice.

For ugali

1. Boil water until bubbling. Sprinkle maize flour, stir firm, work it with strength until it thickens into stiff, hot ugali. Press, fold, shape it until smooth, ready to scoop and hold the fish.

For sukuma

1. Fry onions in oil until golden.
2. Add sukuma, stir, let it soften but still keep its wild bite. Season with salt, keep it green, earthy, unapologetic.

Sauce

Fish doesn’t like being lonely on the plate. That’s why you treat it with a hot, sassy sauce that hugs every bite.

You can build it simple: onions sizzling till golden, tomatoes melting into sweetness, a kick of chili to wake your tongue, and a squeeze of lemon so the flavour pops like a drumbeat.

Let it simmer till it thickens into a coat of love.

Now, you’ve got two paths:

-Dip and Simmer: Let the fish sink slowly into the sauce, soaking up every fiery drop.

-Crispy Crown: Keep your fried fish proud and crunchy, then pour the sauce over it like royalty wearing a spicy red robe.