The Indian community has been in Kenya for hundreds of years their cultural influences and tradtions have become deeply intertwined with those of Kenya's.

One great tradition that the Indian community has introduced to Kenya is the form of cookery known as koroga. The term koroga is Kiswahili and means to stir. The aim of a koroga session is to spend with good company telling jokes, swapping politics and enjoying a drink and the outdoors. At a koroga, the cooking is traditionally done by the men. It's rather refreshing to see a group of men getting together and carefully preparing a delicious meal for their friends and family. The beauty of koroga is that it can be done almost anywhere; on the beach, on safari, camping or at a simple picnic.

There are many venues that offer facilities for korogas, dotted in and around Nairobi. When doing a koroga at a restaurant, guests telephone the restaurant in advance (best to call the day before) to book the space and order the raw ingredients. People choose between chicken, mutton or fish, as well as a list of spices that they would like to use.

Please note that when using chicken, freerange chickens (or road runners) are the most suitable to use for koroga as opposed to broilers. Broilers are too soft and cook too fast. Roadrunners are the slimmed down, tougher version, and are much more flavoursome than their idle, overweight brethren. Their muscles have been developed in a life spent dodging cars, cats and other chickens in our urban and upcountry neighbourhoods. They are cooked slower because of the toughness of their flesh and they absorb the flavours better. Five chickens should be more than sufficient for ten people. Whether the chickens are skinny or not, this is sure to be a very filling meal.

When the group of guests arrive, waiters will set up all the equipment required including the jiko, wok or sufuria, butter or ghee and an assortment of dried spices. All of the meat, onions, tomatoes, ginger and garlic are prepared in advance and brought in separate bowls or containers, ready to be cooked. The equipment and ingredients are set up next to the reserved table.

Koroga is not a rushed affaire. Rather, a good curry takes about 3 hours to cook while the group relaxes at the table talking and enjoying the beer or whatever drink is on offer and usually sit down hours later for their meal. Alternatively, it is possible call in advance and request the restaurant's staff to start cooking the koroga so that the guests can choose to arrive just in time to give the curry one final stir before sitting down to eat.

Chicken Koroga

Here is an example of the how the koroga process works. Put the wok or sufuria on the jiko and allow to heat before adding a 250grm slab of butter or ghee. Next; onions are added to heated fat and fried slowly until they are crispy brown. Diced tomatoes are then added followed by mixed spices to the already heavenly smelling concoction. Allow this to simmer for about five minutes, giving an occasional stir, until it becomes a sauce.

Finally the chicken pieces are added to the tomatoe and onion sauce. More onions and more spices may be added as the curry contitnues to cook. And oh yes, don't forget the chillies! Small quantities of water are added from time to time when the sauce or chicken start sticking to the bottom of the pot.

During the cooking process, the men doing the cooking rise up from time to time and taste the simmering ambrosia, sometimes adding a pinch of this or that and stirring the curry as it continues to cook. There is a sort of sequence that each man follows; add water, stir (koroga), taste. Add water, stir, taste; hence the term koroga. This ensures that when it is ready it is acceptable to the overall palate of the group. This is important, as some people prefer their curries to be hair-splittingly, eye poppingly fiery, which the rest of the group might find quite challenging to consume. As with most group activities that men engage in, koroga sessions have a competitive element as each man gets his turn on different occasions, to prepare a koroga for the rest. There is an unspoken challenge to win the title of Koroga King for the man who cooks the best korogas.

Chapatis, naans or a large serving of rice or ugali, is usually prepared and served by the restaurant's staff as an accompaniment. After a couple of hours of cooking the chicken on low heat you obtain a delightful chicken koroga.

Cutlery is not used for eating, the curry is eaten with fingers and collecting the gravy onto the naan or rolling the meat into balls of rice and shovelling it down. Someone may take pity and provide a fork to anyone who is unfamiliar with using their fingers to eat and who seem to be struggling with the concept. As in all African cooking, not much is discarded so the crunch of a gizzard disguised by the thick gravy and the discovery of other chicken parts best not mentioned, are all part of the eating experience. All parts except for very hard bones are consumed.

Korogas started off as the sole preserve of the Indian community, but have quickly spread in popularity amongst Africans and local Europeans. Not least because this is a very pocket-friendly, delicious and filling meal. Individuals will usually split the total bill amongst themselves for food and drinks. It is possible to spend as little as Ksh 350 per head to have everyone well fed and watered.

Koroga is truly a unique dining experience.