There are still so many culinary secrets and delicacies in African cuisine, which have not been discovered by the general world population. I have already described Odii, central to the cuisine of the people of northern Uganda, and Ugali, common in one form or another throughout Africa. Here’s a real gem: Murzik!
What is Murzik?
The lady is sitting by the wood fire. From time to time, she takes a piece of wood that barely burns and rubs the blackened end deep into the container in her hand: a gourd. She does this several times, until the pumpkin is completely black inside. When she is satisfied, she pours fresh milk into the gourd and seals it with a tight leather seal, decorated with small beads.
Three days later, open the seal and pour out: Murzik.
The lady is most likely from the Kalenjin tribe of Kenya, who live in the high plateaus of western Kenya and in the Great Rift Valley.
They are Nilotes, and have been ranchers for generations. They tend to be of slight build, tall and dark. Most of the long-distance runners in Kenya are from the Kalenjin tribe.
The center of traditional Kalenjin food is Murzik.
Murzik is a form of fermented milk, fermented in a prepared gourd. A gourd is a climbing plant, producing fruit of various lengths or roundness. The fruit is inedible, but when dried, it makes a very useful container. The dried gourd is hollowed out to remove the woody interior. The resulting container is as beautiful and as stable as good wood.
Old wood cannot be used to prepare a pumpkin for Murzik. There are special non-poisonous aromatic woods for this purpose. Sweet-smelling wood ash gives fermented milk a special taste and aroma.
Murzik is served with cornmeal bread, Ugali as we say in Kenya, as a special snack for visitors or as a healthy family meal.
It goes without saying that a Kalenjin woman’s gourd collection is one of her most prized household effects. There are gourds of all sizes, shapes and colors, with clasps and carefully beaded leather handles.
A Kalenjin bride receives her new pumpkin collection as part of her wedding gifts. And probably the greatest gift one woman can give another is letting her have her favorite pumpkin.
And one of the highest compliments a woman can hear about herself is that her skin resembles a Kalenjin gourd.
Life in Kalenjin-land is changing, like everywhere else, but Murzik remains a special and precious delicacy.
You probably heard it here first. Murzik.
