He couldn’t be righter, food is more than just something you consume when hungry, food also carries the culture of a people and their identity. Some foods have actually been passed down from generation to generation and are still enjoyed to date.
Business Insider SSA met with Regina Boros, a Hungarian food enthusiast, blogger, and marketing professional who is also the co-founder of the Black Food Festival to understand her love for food.
Black Food Festival, which has already been successfully held in New York, Berlin, Helsinki, Tel-Aviv, Istanbul and Budapest is set to be held in Nairobi for the first time on 20th October at J’s Fresh Bar & Kitchen, Muthangari Dr, Nairobi, Kenya. The festival is the result of a partnership between Let’s Cook Kenyan Meals Community headed by Pamellah Oduor, Mombasa Farmers and Artisans Market. Andreas Domonyai, an Hungarian researcher based in Kenya also played a crucial role in bringing the festival to Africa.
“The whole project is about being open minded and trying out new dishes out of the ordinary. We celebrate and highlight unique food and provide a platform for people to explore their gastronomy,” Regina told BISSA.
While many Kenyans may not consume black foods every day, black food is not necessary a strange phenomenon, some Kenyan communities do consume smoked fish, maize corns and meat to great relish.
“I came to Kenya in April for the first time and I was surprised to find out that that there is a very vibrant food culture here in Nairobi,”
Regina hopes that the festival will also go a long way in putting Kenyan and African cuisine in general on the world menu. Black Food Festival will be held in Rwanda on 26 October courtesy of Kigali Farmers and Artisan market. Plans to host it in other African countries are underway.
“Since we announced plans to host in Kenya we have received so many positive messages and requests to also host it in other countries in Africa, so we are now planning on how to make it possible,”
Thanks to a burgeoning middle class with a soft spot for the finer things in life, Nairobi city streets is today littered with Chinese, Indian, Turkish, Arabic, Korean restaurants etc. all competing to host Kenyans with adventurous streak keen to explore different cuisines and recipes.
Regina says Hungarian food is not very different from Kenyan dishes. Here are 5 Hungarian dishes she recommends every Kenyan to try out.
Langos is Hungarian fried bread, sometimes called Hungarian pizza. It is made with mashed potatoes and flour.
It was first introduced in Hungary by the Turks centuries ago during their occupation and has since grown to become part of the country's cuisine.
Today it's a popular appetizer or snack usually simply rubbed with garlic and sprinkled with salt.
Palacsinta with apricot jam filling
Palacsinta is an extremely popular Hungarian pancake. They are served as an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert. Palacsinta is almost similar to Kenyan Chapati.
What makes this “quick-change artist” so popular with rich and poor alike is the easy availability and affordability of the ingredients.
Palacsinta is served in a wide range of varieties, both sweet and savory. Hungarian pancakes are eaten hot.
This is Hungarian Rice Pudding and a perfect breakfast alternative!
It is easy to make, versatile, and not too sweet.
Hortobágyi Palacsinta are savory stuffed crepes from Hungary.
Meat is sauteed with onions, tomatoes, paprika, and sour cream to form a stew. The sauce is then drained from the meat before it is wrapped in the crepes.
Flour and sour cream are whisked into the remaining sauce, poured over the filled crepes, and baked until bubbly.
Roast á la Brasov is a filling meat and potato dish from Hungary.
While there are a few variations it is more than often made with diced pork, onions and generous serving of chopped garlic cooked with a few streaks of smokey bacon and mixed with diced potatoes.
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