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How to make animal fat tallow (isiachi) for cooking

This is how the Luhya people of Western Kenya traditionally made animal fat tallow (isiachi) for cooking.
Prep Time3 days
Active Time30 minutes
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Luhya Cuisine
Keyword: Easy, Rich, Traditional
Yield: 1 cup

Equipment

  • 1 Sufuria or karai For best results use one that has a heavy bottom as they are known to absorb and distribute heat more evenly than a sufuria, pan or karai with thin bottoms. More importantly, thin bottomed cooking pans are more prone to 'hot spots' -- areas that heat more quickly than others; hot spots, if not watched carefully, can cause your food to burn.
  • 1 Clay bowl (shitabo) Or any other bowl made from material that can take hot oil
  • 1 Sharp knife Trim surface fat as much as you can. In the modern kitchen this can be made easier by freezing the beef or mutton prior to trimming the fat

Materials

  • ½ Kilogram Animal fat Or any amount of fatty animal meat from which you shave off the fat

Instructions

  • Using a sharp knife trim the fat from a cow or sheep meat
  • Chop the fat into chunks and then spread it out for 2 – 3 days to age it. This process of ageing is known as khukunama in Ishukha dialect of Luhya and kugunama in Maragoli dialect of Luhya.
  • Cut the aged animal fat into smaller pieces. This helps make it take less time to render.
  • Using a heavy bottom sufuria or karai, the fat is simmered over the heat to melt to oil. As the oil is rendered from the fat, stir to distribute heat and avoid sticking and burning.
  • Periodically, pour the rendered oil, lard, into a clay bowl (shitabo)
  • The remnants are cooked with the vegetables such as likhubi (kunde) or given to children to eat as a snack. Ensure that none of the fat remnants remain in the tallow by decanting carefully. The rendered tallow is covered and stored in cool dry place.

Notes

Traditionally among the Luhya, the fatty tail of sheep was considered a treat for children. To make it tastier and not to cause diarrhea from eating too much, the fat was rendered down slowly over heat until what remined was just small bits.