Aliya(Sun Dried Beef)

Aliya is dried beef stew. This is a specialty of the luo community. When a cow was slaughtered the remaining unconsumed meat was dried in the sun to preserve it, as there were no refrigerators. It took about three to four days to dry completely. This meat would then be cooked and consumed, at a later date.

WHAT YOU NEED
  • Beef cut into big chunks.
  • Tomatoes or tomato paste.
  • Onions.
  • Spices of your choice (optional)
  • Bean shell ashes.
  • Water.
  • Cooking oil.
  • Salt.
HOW TO PREPARE ALIYA
  1. Dry your meat in the sun for at least three days. Remember to turn the meat from time to time to ascertain that all sides are completely dry. This may take up to four days.
  2. After the meat has dried, boil it in a pot for more than an hour or until tender. Add salt at this point. Also add cooking oil, sliced onions and tomatoes or tomato paste, let it simmer for at least 15 minutes.
  3. Stir to mix then add water to level with the meat (the amount of water will depend on the serving of your dish).
  4. Add the bean shell ashes then let the soup boil until it turns into an off-white colour.
  5. Add your preferred spices, whether natural or artificial, and let the stew boil for another 10 minutes. Serve while still hot. 
Serving Tips
Goes well with ugali and osuga.

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

You need to make sure the meat is dried and SMOKED, smoking and drying are necessary for you to call it aliya.

Step 2. Before cooking the meat, you need to soak it in warm-close-to-boiling water to remove and charred parts which float out automatically. Then Fry onions and tomatoes in oil, throw the meat in, add salt and water then bring to a quick boil for 10 minutes, Reduce the heat to medium then simmer for about 2.5 hours. Alternatively for best results, use clay pot over jiko and simmer for 4 hours adding little water and charcoal. This is because the meat is dehydrated through smoking and drying so it is tough.

October 31, 2011 at 8:00 PM

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