This archive report was first published on 8 October 2019.
On October 8, 2019, a team of innovative nutritionists from the University of Eldoret (UOE) unveiled a groundbreaking flour that revolutionizes the way we prepare ugali.
The Instant Ugali Pap flour, as it's called, allows individuals to quickly prepare the staple meal without much hassle. With just hot water and a packet of the special flour, one can easily make ugali at their workplace or anywhere else.
According to Prof. Violet Mugalavai, one of the nutritionists behind the new product, the flour is prepared through an intense process and is fortified with a variety of fruits and vegetables, making it more nutritious than regular flour.
“Anyone who loves their ugali or porridge can now indulge whenever they feel like,” said Mugalavai. “With some hot water in a flask or a dispenser, one can achieve a drink of nutritious Uji or cook ugali instantly using the multipurpose fortified flour,” she added.
The flour's ingredients include a blend of maize, sorghum, pumpkin, bananas, mangoes, cassava, amaranth grains, millet, oranges, sweet potato, rice, carrot, baobab, chickpeas, and cowpeas.
After drying and milling the ingredients, the flour is exposed to high temperatures in an extruder, which cooks it. The product is then dried for three hours before being milled again to form the Instant Ugali Pap flour.
The extruding machine used in the process was donated to the institution by Purdue University in the United States.
According to Mugalavai, cooking ugali with the Instant Ugali Pap flour is a straightforward process. Simply add hot water to the flour and stir for about one minute, adjusting the amount of flour to achieve the desired thickness.
Watch the video to learn more about this innovative product.
