Wali Ya Mboga

A recipe from Zaynab Issa's forthcoming book, Third Culture Cooking.

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ICYMI, I chatted with Zaynab Issa late last year about her path to food media (part one) and her forthcoming cookbook (part two). In the final installation of my three-part series, I have a recipe from her upcoming cookbook, Third Culture Cooking, which is out next Tuesday, April 1!

This recipe is for Wali Ya Mboga, a Swahili dish that reflects her roots in East Africa and India, and it’s a dish I helped test for the book. When she first announced she was writing a cookbook, she called for recipe testers on Instagram. I filled out the form not thinking anything of it, and I was selected from nearly 1000 people. I was given an advanced recipe, and while the techniques were not new to me, a few of the flavor combinations were. I am not particularly familiar with East African and Indian cooking, so I was excited for the challenge of testing a recipe and learning something new.

I was given explicit instructions to follow the directions exactly, which is a very weird experience for someone who most often uses recipes in a less-rigid way. But that’s the point: to cook the recipe and leave notes where things don’t work or don’t make sense. And boy, did I leave a lot of notes:

a selection of feedback I left on the doc.

When Zaynab and I met a few months later, I learned I was one of ten people to test this recipe, and a good deal of folks had similar issues and questions as I did. She took all that feedback and incorporated them into the recipe, adjusting steps and tweaking timing, to get to the version that was eventually published.

This recipe hits on a lot of different flavor combinations: a deeply spiced and warm chicken, a spicy and slightly pickled kachumber, and a salty-cooling yogurt. They all come together to make a well rounded dish.

Here’s what Zaynab says about the recipe:

In its purest form, the inspiration for this dish, wali ya mboga (Swahili for “rice and vegetables”), is simple—literally just a mix of sautéed vegetables and rice. This riff on the Khoja version I grew up eating is reflective of my roots in both East Africa and India. Sure, rice and vegetables are still present in the form of long-grain rice swirled with ribbons of spinach, but there’s also tender yogurt-marinated chicken that braises in a spice-forward, aromatic tomato curry made with lots of sweet, frizzled onions, making this version closer to a biryani. Finish each serving with a dollop of creamy salted yogurt and a helping of sharp and tart lemon-dressed onions known as kachumber, and you’ll have a wonder-fully balanced meal.

She’s also going on a book tour and you can find more info here.

Wali Ya Mboga, Sorta

You’ll find this recipe can be prepared with two cooking methods: on the stovetop or in the oven. While traditional wali ya mboga the way I know it is prepared in the oven, the stovetop option is great for a quick and satisfying dish. Granted, though, something magical happens when the tomato-y masala chicken and long-grain rice marry together, encompassed by the oven’s heat. The oven method is also a convenient opportunity to prep ahead and warm through if you’re preparing the dish for a large party. But, trust me, whichever method you choose, it will be delicious.

Serves 6-8

For the chicken

3 tablespoons plain whole-milk yogurt

6 garlic cloves, finely grated, divided

1-inch piece ginger, finely grated

2 1⁄2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt

1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder,* divided

1 1⁄2 pounds (680 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, each thigh cut in half

1⁄2 cup (120 ml) olive oil*

1 large yellow onion,* thinly sliced on a mandoline

1 1⁄2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1⁄2 teaspoons ground coriander

1⁄2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 (14-ounce/400 g) can crushed tomatoes*

For the rice

1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt

2 cups (360 g) good-quality sela or basmati rice

10 ounces (280 g) fresh baby spinach*

For the kachumber and salted yogurt

1 small yellow onion,* thinly sliced

Juice of 1 lemon*

2 green bird’s-eye chilis or 1 jalapeño, seeds removed if desired, sliced

1⁄4 cup (35 g) cherry tomatoes, halved, optional

1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided

3⁄4 cup (180 ml) plain whole-milk yogurt

*INSTEAD OF . . .

Kashmiri red chili powder, use 3⁄4 teaspoon paprika plus 1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Yellow onion, use red onion

Olive oil, use vegetable oil

Crushed tomatoes, use tomato sauce

Baby spinach, use chopped mature spinach, kale, or Swiss chard

Lemon juice, use 2 tablespoons white vinegar and a splash of water

To marinate the chicken: In a large bowl or resealable bag, combine the yogurt, half of the garlic, the ginger, salt, and 1⁄2 teaspoon of the chili powder. Add the chicken and stir in the bowl or move it around in the bag to combine thoroughly, making sure to coat each piece of chicken. Marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature or up to overnight in the fridge.

Heat the olive oil in a large high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add the very thinly sliced onion and fry, stirring occasionally, until deeply browned, 15 to 20 minutes. If desired, using a fork or slot- ted spoon, remove about 1⁄4 cup of the onion and transfer to a paper towel to drain and crisp up as a garnish. Add the remaining garlic, the cumin, coriander, turmeric, and remaining 1⁄2 teaspoon chili powder. Add the marinated chicken and cook for 1 to 2 minutes—it’s OK if the onions appear nearly burnt at this stage. Add the crushed tomatoes, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer. Partially cover and cook, stir- ring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the curry has thickened and darkened in color, 30 to 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the rice using the pasta method: Bring a large pot of water with the salt to a boil. Add the rice to the boiling water and cook until almost tender, testing grains of rice for doneness every few minutes, between 5 and 15 minutes depending on the quality and brand of rice (cooking time varies significantly brand by brand). Add the spin- ach, stir, and cook until the spinach is tender and the rice is fully cooked through, another minute or two. Drain the rice and spinach through a colander and return to the pot. Cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, make the kachumber: Combine the onion, lemon juice, chilis, tomatoes, and 1⁄2 teaspoon of the salt in a small bowl. Toss with a fork to combine, separating the onion rings. Let the kachumber sit at room temperature for at least 5 minutes, then chill until ready to serve.

Whisk the yogurt and the remaining 1⁄2 teaspoon salt in another small bowl. Taste and adjust to your preference. Chill until ready to serve.

For the stovetop assembly method, while the rice and chicken are both still warm, add the chicken to the pot with the rice and roughly toss to combine. There should be some rice stained by the chicken and some rice completely untouched.

For the oven method, preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Return to the rice and fluff it with a fork. Spread one-third of the rice over the bottom of a large (9 x 13–inch works well here), oven-safe serving bowl or casserole dish. Top with the chicken and finish with the remaining rice. Cover with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the rice is warmed through and tender.

Top the dish with the reserved frizzled onions and serve with the salted yogurt and kachumber.

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Excerpted from the new book Third Culture Cooking: Classic Recipes for a New Generation by Zaynab Issa. Photos copyright © 2025 by Graydon Herriott. Published by Abrams.