BURUNDI’S BOKO BOKO HAREES and IBIHARAGE & IBITOKE - Cooking with Kids

Father and son cook two traditional recipes from Burundi, a country in central Africa, on our international cooking adventure. We cook a hearty chicken bulgur porridge called Boko Boko and put together two of the most important vegetarian ingredients in the country: beans and bananas.
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Boko Boko Harees is a very popular dish in Burundi that takes its origin from the Middle East. The dish was brought here by Arab settlers hundreds of years ago and introduced it to the Swahili people in East Africa.
Sometimes instead of chicken, this is made into a sweeter porridge by adding honey or sugar or milk. Sometimes lemon is added as well.
When it is made with chicken (which is the most typical), a small amount of chicken is shredded into the filling bulgur. That is one way to make the protein go much further since meat is far from abundant in Burundi.
It is usually served with a turmeric sauce that also is flavored from chicken gizzards and hearts.
The other dish we put together was pretty visible when I searched for Burundian recipes. However most of the sources were from other food bloggers like me who are not Burundian but attempting to create a Burundian meal.
So I’m not sure if the two ingredients are usually served together like this. But there is no doubt that both beans and plantains are important to the Burundian diet. Ibiharage (fried beans) is a common dish and so is Ibitoke (fried plantains). So I decided to take an idea from my fellow food bloggers and combine the two.
RECIPE:
BOKO BOKO HAREES:
INGREDIENTS
Porridge
1.5 cups bulgur wheat
1.5 pound chicken breast
1 onion grated
2 cinnamon sticks
2 cardamom pods
1 tspn salt to taste
1.5 tbspn ghee or butter
Turmeric Paste and Sauce
1/2 inch turmeric root, ground or 1 tspn turmeric powder
1/2 tspn ginger powder
2 sets chicken giblets gizzards and hearts
1/2 cup water
2 tbspn ghee
1.5 tbspn sugar
Fried Onions
2 tbspn ghee or butter
1 onion thinly sliced
INSTRUCTIONS
Bulgur Porridge
Soak bulgur in 1.5 cups of water for at least 3 hours.
Boil pre-soaked bulgur, chicken breast, grated onion, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, and salt. Once boiling, lower heat to simmer and cover.
Cook for about 45 minutes.
When done, remove chicken breast and allow to cool slightly. When cool enough to handle, shred chicken.
Put shredded chicken back into the bugur wheat and add black pepper and stir over medium low heat.
Stir in 1.5 tbspn of ghee or butter and stir. Cook for a few more minutes.
The porridge should feel like a dough but not too hard. If getting too hard,
add more water and continue stirring.
Turmeric Sauce
Use turmeric paste or make your own by simmering ground turmeric, ginger powder, ghee, and black pepper. Cook until starting to thicken over medium low heat. Just a few minutes.
Chop chicken gizzards and add to 1/2 cup of water. Add turmeric paste (about 1.5 tspns), salt, and sugar. Cook on low for 10 minutes until thicken.
Set aside and cool.
Fried Onions
Melt 2 tbspns ghee over medium heat in medium saucepan. Add thinly sliced onions. Continue stirring until onions get very dark, about 10-15 minutes.
Serve bulgur topped with onions and turmeric sauce on side.
IBIHARAGE & IBITOKE:
INGREDIENTS
Ibiharage (Red Kidney Beans)
1 cup red kidney beans soaked overnight
2 bay leaves
1 onion chopped
1 garlic clove
1 tbspn vegetable oil
1/2 tspn chili powder
1 tspn salt
Ibitoke (Plantains)
2 plantains sliced
1 tspn vegetable oil
1 tspn red palm oil
salt to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
Ibiharage (Red Kidney Beans)
Drain soaked beans and add to a pot with clean water. Add bay leaves and boil for 25-30 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In a medium pan, add sunflower oil over medium. Cook onion and garlic clove until soft. Add cooked beans with salt and chili powder. Add some water and cook for 15-20 minutes.
Ibitoke (Plantains)
Heat sunflower oil and red palm oil in a frying pan over medium high. When hot, add slices of plantain spread out in the pan. Cook until brown and then flip the pieces over to fry the other side. When cooked through add salt.
Serve beans topped with plantains.
TIMESTAMPS:
Introduction to Burundi: 0:15
To jump straight to the cooking: 2:08
Boko Boko Harees (Bulgur and Chicken) - 2:08
Cook Bulgur - 2:20
Turmeric Sauce - 3:40
Ibiharage & Ibitoke (Beans & Bananas) - 4:34
Sam's Food Review - 6:09
Bonus Clip: 7:15
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[@EatThisNY]

Have you ever had beans and plantains? What's your favorite thing to pair with beans?

[@mrcleanthedream770]

Bro this channel is amazing, I followed ur blog

[@EatThisNY]

Thanks so much!

[@normacroberts-hakizimana8785]

I came across your channel while searching for a Burundian restaurant in NYC. I definitely stick to preparing dishes at home. My favorite meal when I visited Burundi years ago with my late husband was the rice, beans, fish, cassava leaves, or other greens, with a banana at the bottom, not a plantain. Also, a Mtoke which is prepared differently than the Uganda version. Sam is adorable! (I also have my own) ❤️

[@amen7673]

im kartong 🇧🇮

[@carwashconnoisseur7216]

Will you cook Angwa Mo & Jollof Rice?

[@EatThisNY]

Perhaps when we get to Ghana in the alphabet. Thanks for the suggestions. Sounds delicious.