Friday, March 22, 2013

Irio | Comfort Kenyan Style

Now I know we all have our own comfort foods. Sometimes we try to add a twist here and there and make them taste more comforting. A little extra spice/seasoning, sometimes replacing an element with another. All these jazzes up our comfort food. 

Exactly the same I felt when I made irio. This is actually Kenyan style mashed potatoes with corn and peas. Atleast thats what I have googled and found. The basic recipe is supposed to be made using dried peas and usually takes hours if done stovetop.

But the wonders of frozen peas and corn have reduced this time. Thats what I understood and made use of when I made this from here. A jazzed up mashed potato with a greenish tinge. Perfect as a side and usually served with steak.

Ingredients:
Potato: 1-2 medium-big 

Frozen peas: 1/2 cup
Frozen corn: 1/2 cup

Salt & Pepper: as per taste

Butter: 1 tbsp (optional) I have not used any

Preparation:
Peel and chop the potatoes into smaller cubes and cook them in boiling water until fork tender.Few minutes before the potatoes are done, add in the thawed peas as well. Drain this together reserving a small cup of the boiling liquid incase it is needed.

Simmer the corn in salted water for few minutes and keep aside.

In a wide vessel mash together peas and potatoes to get a greenish tinged puree. Stir in corn along with little of the reserved liquid. Adjust salt & pepper and serve as a comforting side.You can even add in a tablespoon of soft butter while mashing. This will definitely make it more rich but then its not vegan.So you can make your choice. I went for vegan all the way without adding butter.


A simple jazzed up spud salad which takes it to all the more comforting. If  you have any leftover mash then you can even turn it into tikkis or cutlets the next day.

3 Comments:

Unknown said...

that is very innovative and looks so tempting!!!
Sowmya
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Priya Suresh said...

Irio,am hearing for the frist time, quite delicious..

Swathi said...

Delicious comfort rice Sweatha.

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