Here comes Christmas, where chapati cooking skills determines villains and heroes

Here comes Christmas. Here comes the season. Where making chapati is such a big deal.

It is a meal that makes an appearance at lunch and dinner, depending on how your family traditions are structured. This meal can be a bonding experience, but I assure you that you will never see the end of it should something go wrong as you make them.

We are a big family of 45, minus guests and neighbours. Think about it, how many chapatis do you think people excited to see ‘shosho’ and ‘guka’ gobble down?

In Kenya kitchens, villains and heroes are determined by their chapati cooking skills. 

Do you know how disappointing it is to bend your back to prepare 12 kilograms of the delicacy in a sitting? 

You are in for some labour if you come from the mountain where ‘chapo za brown’ must make an appearance. These have their own delicate art to it and should you get the ratios wrong, you will make tortilla chips in place of chapati.

This year, I challenged my two friends Dravil and Ajuma to master the art of cooking chapati. 12 months later, Ajuma says that she can cook everything else and does not desire to date a chapati fanatic ,unless they can cook it themselves .

“Mimi mtu hatanistress. Sasa chapati si tutanunua kwa kibanda ,” she says from time to time .

Dravil, after numerous trials, YouTube tutorials and help from his mother proudly considers herself 'ready for marriage.'

"My first chapatis were so hard I could roof a damn house with them. The next ones were too thick; I could use them as a duvet, but they were not well-cooked. Some looked like a heart, others like a hat, and then others like a hut," Dravil says.

On the other hand, Ajuma seems to be struggling to make any progress in this culinary art. As a sister who cares about her mental health during Christmas, I want to reassure her that it is okay not to know how to cook chapati.

Believe me, Ajuma, when I say this: the disdain in people's faces when you confess you can't make chapati is far less than that of poorly cooked ones. 

That first reaction to star shapes and a failed attempt at a circle—maybe you get lucky and they are round but taste like crisps (chapos should be soft, you see). They could be soft, but one ingredient, say salt, decides to betray you. Something always goes wrong.

But it is Christmas and people can be forgiving, embrace the imperfections, the heart-shaped chapatis, the hut-like ones, and even the ones that taste like crisps.

After all, it's not just about the perfect chapati; it's about the joy, laughter, and love shared during the process.

It is Okay Ajuma, take a deep breath, and let's enjoy the chaos of chapati-making together.

I do not understand why, in 2023, cooking chapati determines a good woman for marriage. Woe unto you if your partner will take you to shags this Christmas. And aunties will be waiting to rate your 'wifey qualifications' with mere softness and roundness of chapati.