1. You know what comes first: soak those beans (about 1.5-2 cups) overnight-you don't have to squeeze them this time unless it gives you that warm fuzzy feeling inside like only a good squeeze can. The next afternoon, drain them, double the water-to-bean ratio and put them on your charcoal jiko (stove) for about 2 hours.
2. When the beans have about 45 minutes left dice 2-3 onions and 3-4 tomatoes. Add a little water, some cooking oil, and some salt and start frying up your veggies in a sufuria (cooking pot) above the kerosene jiko. If you wait until the beans are done you can use some bean broth in place of water. When the onions become white you can turn down the heat until the beans are ready.
3. While the veggies are frying cover them with a frying pan full of 3 cups of water until it gets warm-not hot. Then re-cover the veggies with a lid. Get out your kibao cha nazi or serrated knife and start grinding away at the coconut. Once you have finished put the coconut shavings in the warm water and squeeze them over a strainer into a large cup to make your tasty coconut milk. Repeat 1 or 2 times
4. By now the veggies should be ready as well as the beans (seriously). Scoop out just the beans-no broth-and mix them with the veggies. Now add the coconut milk and put the mix on your charcoal jiko. Cover until it begins to boil. Then let it boil uncovered while you make ugali. For extra flavor add spinach at this point.
5. Now prepare for the hardest cooking you'll ever do: stirring flour in water with a ratio of 1000:1. That's right you're gonna make ugali or Tanzanian cake. Fill a sufuria half full of water, put it on your kerosene jiko, and sift 7-8 cups of corn flour. You probably won't use it all but you'll need to have it ready fast so it's better to be prepared.
6. Mix some corn flour and cool or warm water until you get a thin porridge.
7. Once the water starts to boil, dump half of it out, pour in your thin porridge and stir like crazy. Quick! Start adding more corn flour and stir, stir, stir. Add more, MORE! STIR, STIR, STIR. Now let the mixture sit until bubbles start to push through to the surface. Keep adding and stirring from time to time until you have a thick porridge and it's ok if the bottom starts to burn a little. Hongera sana! You've made ugali.
8. The beans are done and it's time to eat. So how do you eat this stuff? Put the beans in a small bowl and cut the ugali like a cake and put it on your plate. Now cut the ugali into small pieces to let some heat out because it gets HOT!
9. Take a piece of ugali in your hand, roll it into a ball and make a small dimple in the ball with your thumb-kind of like a golf ball but just one big dimple.
10. Now use this dimple as a bowl for a few beans-the more you add the more flavor the ugali has. Enjoy!
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