Dish of Beef & Wheat Bokoboko
(click to enlarge)

Beef & Wheat Bokoboko


Tanzania   -   Bokoboko
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 2-1/2 #
***
1-3/4 hrs
Yes		 Adapted from Persia, this dish is popular on the Swahili coast and offshore islands of Tanzania. It can also be made with Chicken, Lamb, or Goat, and rewarms very well.

1
1
4
2
1/2
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1
1/2
1
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2
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1
#
c
oz
cl
in
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t
t
t
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T
c
t
Beef, ground (1)
Wheat, pelted (2)  
Onions
Garlic
Ginger Root
-- Spices
Cumin Seed
Pepper, black
Bouillon (3)
----------------
Oil
Water
Salt
Do Ahead   -   (8+ hr - 5 min work)
  1. Soak WHEAT overnight, or at least 8 hours. Drain and rinse.
Prep   -   (20 min)
  1. Chop GROUND BEEF well to make sure it isn't stringy.
  2. Chop ONIONS small.
  3. Crush GARLIC and chop fine, Slice GINGER very thin. cut the slices into threads and chop threads fine. Mix.
  4. Grind Cumin. Crush Bouillon (if a cube). Mix all Spices items.
Run   -   (1-1/4hrs)
  1. In a spacious sauté pan (3-1/2 qt) or similar, heat Oil and fry Onions until lightly browned, then stir in Garlic mix just until aromatic.
  2. Stir in Spices for about 30 seconds, then stir in Beef. Fry stirring and breaking up clumps until Beef has lost its raw color and any exuded liquid has evaporated.
  3. Stir in Wheat, Water and Salt. Bring to a boil and simmer covered until Wheat is not too chewy. For Pelted Wheat this could be up to an hour, for Bulgur, much less time. When nearly done, be sure to scrape up the bottom of the pan often.
  4. Adjust liquid to how you like it. This dish can be cooked dry, almost like steamed rice, but it can also be quite liquid, like a stew.
  5. Check seasoning and serve hot - see Serving.
NOTES:

  1. Beef, Ground:

      [Minced Beef (UK]   This can be ground, or, for a somewhat different texture, chopped fairly fine. For best flavor use 73% lean, but certainly not above 83% lean. Don't worry, the Low Fat Diet has been completely discredited as a fraud from the get-go.

  2. Wheat, Pelted:

      This is the wheat equivalent of pearled barley. It is available from markets that serve a community from the Mediterranean on east to Persia (Iran). This recipe can also be made with Bulgur Wheat, which would eliminate the soaking, and the cooking would be much quicker, but the flavor and texture would be quite different.

  3. Bouillon:

      This can be a cube to match the meat, or however you prefer. In Africa this would probably be a Maggi® Cube. For the photo example I used 1/2 Tablespoon of Knorr® Beef Flavor Bouillon.

  4. Serving:

      This dish can be served with Steamed Jasmine Rice, folded into East African Chapatis (which are identical to our 6 inch Wheat Tortillas), or served with Ugali.
  5. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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