Omena are tiny, wet, salty lovers, they flood your mouth all at once, biting, teasing, licking your lips with their ocean heat.
They cling to your fingers, stick to your tongue and leave you dripping with their wild, fishy kiss. They smell like the lakeside breeze after rain, heavy and tempting, daring you to take another handful.
You can’t rush omena. It demands touch, patience and a tongue that knows how to find every bit of flavour hiding in the tiny, glistening bodies.
Ugali is the stiff, hot, firm grip you need to handle them. You scoop with it, press it in deep and let it carry every sticky, salty mouthful straight between your lips.
It doesn’t bend, it doesn’t break, it holds the mess together while you surrender. It’s that strong village man of a meal, standing proud in the pot, steam rising like heat from a body that’s worked the fields all day.
When it lands on your plate, thick and bold, you already know it’s about to make you sweat.
And then comes mrenda, dark, silky and sly, with a slow, slippery tease that coats every inch of your tongue.
It’s the quiet one, the one that doesn’t rush in with noise or fire but slides in smooth, wet and deep until you can’t tell where the taste ends and the craving begins.
Soft leaves that boil down into a glossy, green tangle, a little slimy, a little sinful, but oh, how it glides.
You scoop it with ugali the way you’d hold something precious, and it stretches between your fingers like a secret you can’t let go.
Mrenda doesn’t just sit on the tongue; it lingers, hums low in your throat, leaving you wanting to chase that slippery thrill all over again.
Together, omena, ugali and mrenda are filthy harmony, wet, stiff, soft, salty and sinful. It’s a threesome that doesn’t ask for permission, it just takes you, leaves you messy and makes you want round two.
There’s no pretence here, no fancy plating, just raw village passion and flavours that stick to your skin long after the last bite.
TIPS
• Fry the omena hot and fast so they stay crunchy outside but soft and wet inside
• Squeeze the ugali while it’s still steaming, let the heat burn your palms a little. That’s how you know it’s ready
• Mrenda loves time and oil. Let it bubble until it shimmers, that’s when it’s ready to slide down right
• Eat omena with your fingers, lick them clean, don’t let a single salty kiss go to waste
WARNING
Careful, sweetheart, omena, ugali and mrenda is not just a meal, it’s a slippery, sticky threesome that’ll leave you salty, satisfied and moaning for more.
Once they see how dirty you can get with tiny fish, stiff ugali and wet mrenda, they’ll never look at you, or dinner, the same way again.
INGREDIENTS
For omena
• 2 cups dried omena
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 chili, chopped
• Oil for frying
• Salt to taste
For ugali
• 2 cups maize flour
• 4 cups water
For mrenda
• 2 handfuls mrenda leaves
• 1 onion, sliced
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying
PROCEDURE
For omena
1. Wash the omena in hot water and squeeze tight. You can repeat that two more times
2. Heat oil, throw the omena in, let it sizzle, jump and pop in the pan until golden.
3. Slide in onions, garlic, chili and tomatoes. Stir until thick, wet and clinging to every tiny fish
For ugali
- Bring water to a boil, pour in maize flour, stir hard until it’s stiff and hot. Hold it firm until it stands proud in the pot
For mrenda
1. Fry onions until soft and wet, then set aside
2. Boil mrenda leaves, stir until they turn slick, glossy and tender, dripping with flavour, and then add the onions. Continue stirring for a while, it should not lose its colour
