Locally known as maharage ya nazi in the Swahili dialect, Swahili coconut beans are our go-to meal not only because it’s one of the easiest meals to prepare more, but it’s deliciously creamy with the rich beans flavour. I like to use yellow beans or rose coco for this, and of course, you can use any other kind of beans you have, though.

You may have eaten the coconut beans, but have you made them at home? Thanks to my Swahili friends at school, I learned how to make this delicious goodness. They would always make it at home with chapatis or rice. You’ll love this one if you like it creamy, smooth, and tasty.

Note, though, that if you like to make food on weekdays, you may need to boil the beans in advance; otherwise, cook them on weekends.

About Swahili coconut beans

I first encountered coconut beans when I went to college in Kilifi, and I couldn’t get enough of them. Coconut beans are popular among the Swahilis of East Africa. Swahili cuisine is one of the best across East Africa because it blends spicy, creamy, and flavourful ingredients.

Traditionally, we boil the beans with coconut milk, but you can choose which method is better for you. The best part, though, is that you will find the coconut pieces whenever, and as such, we can make the meal with whichever other bean style you choose.

How to make Swahili coconut beans

Ingredients

Beans

I like to use yellow beans, but you can also use kidney, red, or other beans. For this recipe, though, I use my favourite yellow beans.

Coconut

While canned coconut cream or milk provides the richest authentic flavour, I prefer to make it traditionally. You just shred the coconut from the fruit and then press the coconut milk.

Remember, we’ll have three versions of this milk: the heavy one, which we’ll use at the last step; the medium-thick one, and the very light one.

Onions

Use your red or white onions for this, and remember to use a lot of onions-.

Tomatoes

We don’t need to create a tomato sauce, so we only need a few pieces to enrich it a little bit. Ensure you use less acidic tomatoes.

Ginger and garlic

We need about three cloves of garlic and a small piece of ginger, which we can mash or blend.

Hoho/capsicum

I love the rich green flavour profile of the capsicum, and of course, you can also use other colours if you have them.

Chillis

Something about a spicy bean soup makes the whole meal unique. You can sip this part if you don’t like it hot, and you won’t need to chop the chillies if you want it mildly hot.

Coriander and royco

I like to use a little extra spice, but I try to minimize the ground spices I use so they don’t overpower the coconut flavour.

Method

Prepare the coconut

Since you are going to use real coconuts, you need to break them and form the proper coconut milk. I know you would use canned coconut cream, but it’s not as tasty as the real coconut we make in Mombasa.

So, break the coconuts and add the pieces to the food processor or blender. Add a little bit of water and grind to smoothen.

Take your cloth sieve or cheesecloth and squeeze the water and milk out. For the first option, you won’t need to add water. Then, add a little more water to make it medium-thick coconut milk. You can also add more water to create the thin coconut milk to use when boiling the beans.

Boil your yellow beans.

Remember, you will first need to boil the yellow beans. For this step, you can use light coconut water and add more water to ensure the coconut flavour starts seeping in. Soaking the beans for about four hours is better because it reduces the cooking time.

You can use the pressure cooker for this, but our traditional charcoal jiko is better because it gives it a rich, smoky flavour.

Check if it’s softer to follow up on the next steps.

Let’s start the preparation.

For this recipe, we don’t add more oil to cook the beans, and you don’t have to fry them like we do with most other foods.

Chop the onions, capsicum, tomatoes, and other preferred herbs. Next, mince the garlic and ginger and set them aside. When everything is set, recheck the beans to ensure they’re softened enough from the boiling.

Add the vegetables and spices to the beans. Then, add your middle-level thick coconut milk and cover. Simmer it over low heat to allow the vegetables to cook correctly. This will take up to 20 minutes, and the vegetables will be relatively tender.

Toss it to mix everything up and create the perfect blend. Add your salt and toss it a little before adding the last batch of coconut milk, the thick coconut milk. Toss it to blend in, and then allow it to cook for a minute or two.

It’s all ready and best served with chapati or rice. For coastal people, it is served alongside fish or roasted meats and chapati or rice. It is also one of the Tanzanian dishes.

Of course, you can also cook them by sauteing the vegetables to create the tomato sauce, but when I have the traditional style of coconut milk, I prefer to cook it as above. It’s even richer, healthier, and tastier.

FAQs

What should I do to the leftovers?

Like other saucy beans we cook, you can keep this in the fridge and eat it within 3 days. But remember, when warming the beans on the stove, you shouldn’t add a lot of water since it will alter the rich coconut flavour. If you have light coconut-flavoured milk, you can use it.

If you want it to last a little longer, freeze it.

Do I have to boil the beans?

If you want to determine its flavours, boil them yourself, preferably using charcoal, the traditional way.

Alternatively, you can buy the beans already boiled and start cooking them with coconut milk to ensure the flavour is just as rich.

Can I use the canned coconut cream or milk?

Yes, you can, but it won’t be as lovely as the Swahili coconut beans.

Whenever I think of coconut beans, I think back to my campus days, when Life was a lot easier, and we could take our time making a meal from scratch. I mean, we had all the time, and it was terrific.