Kenya | Main dish

Githeri

Name: Githeri
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 70 min
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 6 bowls
Cuisine: Kenya, East Africa
Ingredients: 2 cups maize kernels, fresh or pre-cooked; 2 cups beans, kidney beans or rose coco, soaked if dry; 6 cups water, for boiling; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 large onion, chopped; 2 medium tomatoes, chopped; 2 medium carrots, diced; 1 tsp curry powder; ¼ cup fresh coriander, chopped; salt, to taste

A Kenyan maize and beans dish, often simmered plain or finished with onion, tomato, and vegetables.

Country

Kenya

Region

East Africa

Time

90 min

Serves

Level

easy

Start cooking Explore Kenya recipes

01 / Get ready

Everything you need

Tap each ingredient as you gather it. Illustrations are visual guides; follow the ingredient names and quantities.

Servings 6

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

Jump to method My cookbook

Ingredients

For 6 bowls

Main dish

A few kitchen essentials

Suggested from the recipe method. Use equivalent equipment you have.

Lidded pot

Wooden spoon

02 / Let’s cook

One step at a time

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Kenya

4 steps 20 min prep 70 min cook (check method) 90 min total easy

Boil maize and beans

Simmer maize and beans in water until both are tender. Add more water if needed and season with salt near the end.

Kitchen noteDry maize and dry beans can take much longer. Pre-cooked maize and beans shorten the recipe.

Boil base 60:00

Make the tomato finish

Heat oil, then fry onion until soft. Add tomatoes, carrots if using, and curry powder if using. Cook until saucy.

Cook finish 15:00

Combine

Add drained maize and beans to the tomato finish. Stir with a splash of cooking liquid and simmer until flavors come together.

Simmer 10:00

Serve

Finish with coriander if using and serve hot with kachumbari or avocado.

Some versions remain plain maize and beans; others add potatoes, carrots, greens, curry powder, or tomato.

Cooking notes, photos & serving ideas

Recipe context

More about this dish

Serving ideas, regional context, and cooking cues for when you want more detail.

When to cook it

Best for weekday meals, school-style bowls, and batch cooking.. Plan on a easy cook. Allow about 90 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Kachumbari, avocado, sukuma wiki, or a little chile sauce.

Regional lane

Kenya national table. A structured Kenya dish in the AfroKitchen archive.

Chef watch-outs

Overcooking the greens until the color and texture collapse.
Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
Adding all seasoning early and forgetting to adjust at the end.

How you know it is ready

Greens should be cooked through but still look alive and glossy.
The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.

Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

Take a closer look at the dish and its serving ideas.

Githeri recipe from Kenya — Githeri finished dish

Chef board

Build the table around Githeri

Kachumbari, avocado, sukuma wiki, or a little chile sauce.

Best route from here

Kenya national table

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