Irio

Actually I have looked on several sites on how to make irio.   This dish is from Kenya. I have made it several times before and I want to put my own spin on it on how I made this dish.  I said after I make this again that I am going to post it.  The way some others make it seem kind of bland so I decided to jazz it up just a little by doing it my way to give it more flavor.

Mostly  this  is a dish that is mostly simmered on low and then when done it is all mashed up. It starts out as nearly everything is put in a pot  at once.  The ingredients can be dried, fresh and frozen.  If you are using dried whole peas and lima beans, about 1/2 cup of each in the pressure cooker with 5 cups of water. Turn on heat to high and wait for safety button to pop up, lower the heat to medium and cook for 25  to 30 minutes.  Turn off heat let pressure escape. Check to see if peas and lima beans are soft. If they are skip  adding 1 or two more cups of water and let cook for another 20 minutes.  Turn heat off and  set aside.

If you are using fresh  or frozen greens which is optional,  pick clean and chop the fresh ones.  It can be spinach, kale, Swiss chard or even beet greens.   This is recommended  because it will not overpower the dish. Turnip and mustard greens are kind of strong  and it may clash and collards is very tough are not recommended.  The ones I had mentioned before are mild and will compliment the dish nicely if you are using.

In a regular pot on the stovetop I added 1 oz of either olive. corn, canola, safflower, sunflower or peanut oil.  I added 1 onion or shallot cut in to half moon slices. I let them brown a little, 1 chili of any type deseeded and chopped.  Also if using dry chili be sure to crumble in to the oil. Add 1 bullion cube, 3 dashes of maggi or knorr aroma and stir.

I scrubbed and quartered 5 potatoes before I added it to the pot.  At this point you can empty the contents of the pressure cooker  in to the pot with the potatoes then add 1 small bag or 1/4  of a large bag of corn or do as I did by adding just the potatoes with 1 small bag each of frozen lima beans, peas and corn  which has to be the same amount as with using the dry ingredients.  Add 1 handful of greens for additional color or texture which I didn’t add because of it being optional.

If you are using frozen  with fresh then you have to add 4 cups of water.  If using dried then you can skip additional water.   Turn heat down to low cover and let cook for 25 minutes or until it is soft.  When everything is done and potatoes are soft then you can get a potato masher and start mashing.

Never mind how it looks, lol. It really tastes great and you will really enjoy this. This really is a wonderful dish I swear and it is easy to make too.