In the end, this reporter realized that what the njahi wars were really about is that some people don’t understand that food is supposed to be tasty. And that maybe the colonizers were right about this one thing.
Editor’s note: Determined to provide a counterpoint—these are the njahi wars, after all!—we’ve asked Kiano Moju to create a rendition of njahi that we’re confident at least some readers will enjoy. You can join the fray by making the dish linked below. It was raining the first time I cooked njahi. As I put the beans to boil, the rain abated, and then ceased. I went back to the living room. I read a book, watched some TV, listened to music, whatever. At some point, the air filled with that particular smell rain produces when it hits dust on the road after a particularly dry stretch, and I was momentarily confused. After a few moments, I realize that the smell was coming from my kitchen. It was the njahi, boiling on the stove.
