Njugu karanga: Mythical nut that Kenyan men like to eat with a 'chuckle'

You will find her sitting on the side of the road selling her nuts.

"Some people call me 'Mama Njugu' because I have been doing this for more than 10 years," she says with a smile.

Our discussion is briefly 'disrupted' when two young-looking men walk to her stand to buy the precious nuts.

The two men indulge in all too familiar jokes about njugu and male potency. The two men choose to speak in sheng -- almost as if to keep their 'njugu discussion' private. 

You can tell they are intentionally trying to lock us 'adults', out of their little world. The two look to be in their mid-twenties...

"Most of my customers are men; young men mostly. I know there is this belief that njugu enhances sexual drive, and I hear men all the time make jokes about it, and why they need njugu in their life," she says with a smile.  

On a good day, Mama Sophia sells more than 60 packets of njugu karanga. A tiny packet costs Sh20.

Hussein Juma, a videographer in Nairobi, told Wananchi Reporting that he eats njugu karanga a lot at the office, mostly for breakfast.

"I find peanut a lot cheaper and nutritious. I only spend Sh20 and I have something to bite even as I go about my work," he says.

Juma, a single man in his thirties, however, notes that there are times when people, especially men, make 'bedroom jokes' about his njugus, even at the office.

"I have a feeling people have over sexualised njugu karanga. Anytime someone sees you eating nuts, they start to make those jokes about bedroom matters. Sometimes I am forced to eat my nuts in secret," he says with a chuckle.

Many believe that njugu karanga is one of the most misrepresented food crops.

Apart from being eaten as 'food', many people who chew miraa (jaba) or muguka often 'throw' in njugu into the mix.

All these seem to add to the myth that have continued to follow the legume like a tail.

On her part,  Mary Nzisa, a resident of Machakos, feels that roasted groundnuts don't do much for her as a woman.

"I eat njugu karanga occasionally, but I don't think it does a lot for me as a woman. It just fills you up fast, and of course it's nutritious. Roasted groundnut is more of a men's thing," she says.

Others like Brian Lichuma, eats karanga because it's an easy snack.

"I eat peanut a lot because it's easy to get, and does not cost much. I can get njugu karanga for Sh10. I like it as a snack, and I can eat it anywhere, even inside a matatu," he says.

Adding that: "I have had those 'little jokes' about njugu karanga and male potency directed at me. I know there could be some elements of truth, but to me it's just a snack," says Lichuma.

According to nutritionist Juliet Njeri of Juliet Ronica Nutrition Services,  peanut when eaten correctly, increases blood flow in the reproductive area leading to high libido among men.

"The stories you hear about peanut or njugu increasing male potency are not just a myth," she says.

"Men need a lot of proteins to build muscles and to maintain a good heart. That said, a handful of peanut should be enough for the body," says Njeri.

However,  she says peanut or njugu karanga may not work well for people who are overweight.

"It (peanut) works if you are fit and with the correct BMI. Men who have good cholesterol stand to benefit especially when it comes to enhancing blood flow," she says.

What about women?

"For a woman it (peanuts) helps with supplying minerals to the body, and enhancing blood flow among other benefits.

"It also helps with weight loss because one gets full faster... or rather it gives a feeling of fullness, so one is not likely to overeat. This is why it helps women in their weight loss journey, says Njeri.