
Kenyan Style Masala Chips
EVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY
THEME: HOMEMADE RESTAURANT STYLE FOOD
RECIPE: KENYAN STYLE MASALA CHIPS
Kenyan Style Masala Chips also known as chips masala, is a popular dish on most restaurant menus in Kenya. Easy to make, spicy and tasty. It is a must to try out these chips when in Kenya.
Here, chips is what the North Americans call French Fries. Being a former British Colony, chips is the word used for french fries and the North American Chips is what we call crisps.
How did this popular dish come about? No idea but all I know that the love for Masala Chips started from Exotica Restaurant in Nairobi. At that time the restaurant was very small, so majority of the people ordered food from their cars and enjoyed it in the car. Now Masala Chips is referred to Masala Fries on their menu. Exotica was not the only restaurant selling masala chips. So many other fast food places sell it. Slush is one of them, So does Chowpatty. In Mombasa, Blue Room does them very well.
Meru Potatoes grow abundantly in Kenya and chips made from them are out of this world. No seriously, they are. The chips become nice and crunchy without burning and yet are soft inside. Whenever hubby and I go out of Kenya for a month or two to visit family, the first thing we want to have at the airport when we’re waiting for our connecting flight to Mombasa, is a big plate of masala or garlic chips. At the airport Paul Caffe make them pretty good.
I feel that some smart restaurant owner must have come up with an innovative way of using up old fried chips instead of binning them. Once left for a couple of hours, chips tend to become soft and tasteless. Whoever, invented it, it is sure is a popular dish that is ordered all over Kenya to enjoy on its own or with chicken, fish, nyama choma, kebabs, chappati, etc.
Why Make Kenyan Style Masala Chips?
- First of all it is a totally different way to enjoy a plate of chips or fries.
- Serve it as a snack or starter.
- Serve as a side dish with chicken, roasted meat, fish, kebabs or parathas stuffed with eggs, meat or vegetables.
- Take care of that nostalgic feeling when you’re miles away from Kenya/Home.
- Kids Party – just go easy on the chillis.
- BBQ or Koroga Parties – Masala Chips cooked on a big tawa and served hot as a snack to go with your cold beer or drink.
A Bit About The Group:
In brief, every month a new theme is chosen by members. Furthermore, the participants are paired up. In turn, they give each other 2 secret ingredients to use in their recipe which is prepared fitting the theme.
As soon as their dish is ready, the photo is shared on our Facebook group. The other participants try and guess the secret ingredients. Towards the end of the month the recipe is shared on the group. Additionally, members get to know each other and interact with them.
This Month’s Theme
Aruna who blogs at VasusVegKitchen suggested that we make Restaurant Style Food at home.Anything that is a family or our favourite. While on restaurant style food, I would love to try out Aruna’s Curd Rice Recipe. For the theme she prepared …
My Partners
My partner this month is Sujata who blogs at Batter Up With Sujata. I knew my dish would be a savoury one so I asked her for ingredients that would go into a savoury dish. She gave me tomato ketchup and ginger as those are fast food restaurant popular ingredients. Keeping that in mind, I gave her kasuri methi and lemon juice. Using those two she had made creamy Chicken Keema Kali Mirch The restaurant style dish that I would really like to make (as soon as I get some okra) is her Bhindi Korma.
This time round also partnered with Renu who blogs at Cook With Renu as she had no partner. I gave her wheat flour and yeast as she had wanted to bake something. With those ingredients she has prepared Domino Style Garlic Breadsticks which I love. Also on my list to try out is Mangodi Ki Kadhi from her blog.
Some Of My Restaurant Style Food Made At Home:
Will never forget the delicious Momo Soup we had every evening during our stay in Kathmandu.
Love Mombasa Mix so much, usually have it on Sundays from Cafe Ayaz in Mombasa.
A must have whenever I go to Indian Restaurants in UK – Garlic Chilli Mogo
Honey Chilli Potatoes – love to order these from Indo Chinese Restaurants in India.
If I could, I would finish a whole bowl of Paneer Butter Masala, love it soooo much.
Besides Podi Idli which I always order from Madhurai Idly and Rava Idli from Shri Krishna In Bangalore.
French Toast is what I love when we go to different cafes for brunch in Montreal.
Banana Mango Smoothie Bowl whenever we have breakfast at the Elementum, Bali.
My Restaurant Style Recipe – Kenyan Style Masala Chips
I had two recipes in my mind when this month’s theme was suggested, mushroom tikka and Masala Chips. Kenyan Style Mushroom Chips won as we’ve been away from Kenya for 7 months and MacDonald or any other fast food place chips cannot stop the craving for Kenyan Style Masala Chips.
Many people are under the impression that this dish is popular among the Asians of Kenya. However, that is not true, as you will see kids and adults from all different cultural backgrounds enjoying this dish. I remember every time we had our Lions Club board meetings, masala chips were always ordered to enjoy with our drinks.
The other popular Chips Dish in most restaurants is Garlic Chips. One style is like making masala chips but with more garlic added and with little or no onion. The other style is where garlic is stir fried in oil, some paprika or Kashmiri chilli powder is added and then the fried chips. With a sprinkle of lemon or vinegar and a bit of salt, garlic chips is ready.
Ingredients Required For Kenyan Style Masala Chips
- Chips/ French Fries – fried, air fried or baked. I used frozen chips which I baked in the oven according to the instructions on the package. Make sure the chips are crunchy and not soft. Otherwise they will become soggy when you add to the masala.
- Oil – any oil of your choice. I have used sunflower oil.
- Onion – peeled and chopped. Can use red, white or yellow. Chop up the onion finely.
- Garlic – peeled and chopped finely or minced.
- Ginger – peeled and grated or minced.
- Green Chillis – chopped, use according to your taste.
- Red Chilli Powder/ Paprika – use according to your taste.
- Turmeric Powder – haldi.
- Coriander Powder – dhania powder
- Fresh Tomato Puree – thick. I usually cook the tomatoes and puree them with little water.
- Tomato Ketchup – some restaurants use only ketchup to make masala chips while some use a combination of fresh tomatoes and ketchup.
- Chilli Sauce – while the best one to use is the famous Kenyan Peptang Sauce, you can use any one you have at home. I used Sriracha.
- Salt – add according to your taste. Many frozen chips/fries already have a bit of salt so taste and add accordingly.
- Fresh Coriander/ Cilantro – chopped.
Watch How To Prepare Kenyan Style Masala Chips

KENYAN STYLE MASALA CHIPS
Ingredients
- 200 -300 g chips/french fries
- ¾ cup onion finely chopped
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1-2 green chillis chopped
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp red chilli powder or paprika
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
- ½ cup fresh tomato puree thick
- 1 tbsp chilli sauce
- ½ -1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander chopped
Instructions
- First prepare the chips or french fries. I used frozen ones which I baked in the oven following the instructions on the packet.
- Heat oil in a wide pan over medium heat.
- Add chopped onion and stir fry till it becomes soft.
- Add garlic paste and stir fry till it begins to turn light pink.
- Add ginger and chilli. Stir fry for a few seconds.
- Add turmeric, chilli, coriander powders and mix well.
- Immediately add the tomato ketchup. Mix well.
- Add tomato puree and chilli sauce. Mix well.
- Allow the sauce to become a bit thick, it should not be watery at all.
- Add the fried, air fried or baked chips.
- Sprinkle salt over it. Mix well. Allow the mixture to become hot and mix gently occasionally.
- Add chopped coriander, mix well and serve immediately as a side dish or on its own as a snack.
Notes
- Allow the chips/fries to become a bit crunchy so that they do not become soggy when you add to the masala.
- Adjust the spice level according to your taste.
- Be careful when you add salt. Some frozen chips/fries already are salted.
- Usually it is best to consume masala chips as soon as you prepare it. However, if it becomes cold, just heat it up in the pan or in the microwave oven.
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A little request:
If you do try this recipe then please either
- add a comment below,
- send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
- tag me as #mayuri_jikoni on Instagram
- or tag me on Twitter as #Mayuri1962
41 Comments
Priya Vj
March 6, 2022 at 1:24 pm
Kenyan style masala chips — Oo laa laa is what I can say. Noone can ever say No to this yummy starter . So easy and quick to assemble with basic ingredients. We can serve this easily when we have unannounced guests if we have frozen fries ready.
mayurisjikoni
March 6, 2022 at 1:51 pm
Thank you so much Priya, yes it is so easy to put together with basic ingredients. Try the recipe.
Vasusvegkitchen Vasusvegkitchen
March 7, 2022 at 7:26 am
Wow these Kenyan restaurant style masala chips looks super yummy. I love spicy chips a lot, loved the way masala that is coated to french fries. Loved your detailed recipe and other restaurant style recipe collection, unique recipes to try. Will try this masala chips very soon..
mayurisjikoni
March 8, 2022 at 10:14 pm
Thank you so much Aruna. That is how it is served in the restaurants, each chip is coated with the sauce.Please do try out the recipe.
Renu
March 8, 2022 at 11:39 am
Love these Kenyan-style masala chips. This is also a good recipe to use leftover chips. At times, during bday parties we have leftovers and I would love to try this, with all the sauces, I think I would only finish it 🙂
mayurisjikoni
March 8, 2022 at 10:07 pm
Thank you so much Renu. It definitely is a good way to use up leftover fries.
Angela
March 8, 2022 at 4:33 pm
This was such a unique recipe and I just loved it! I am so excited to have discovered it…YUM!!!
mayurisjikoni
March 8, 2022 at 10:06 pm
Thank you so much Angela. Am so glad you loved this recipe.
Julie
March 8, 2022 at 6:22 pm
These look incredible! I love the flavors in this and how easy they are to make at home. We’ll be making this one again for sure!
mayurisjikoni
March 8, 2022 at 10:05 pm
Thank you so much. Am so glad you liked the flavours of Kenyan Style Masala Chips.
Swathi
March 8, 2022 at 8:10 pm
This Kenyan style masala looks delicious I would love to make it.
mayurisjikoni
March 8, 2022 at 10:04 pm
Thank you Swathi, please do try the recipe.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
March 8, 2022 at 9:43 pm
This is absolutely the best masala chips / fries ever! We get something like this from our local burger place but this is just even better than that. Thanks for the recipe
mayurisjikoni
March 8, 2022 at 10:04 pm
Thank you so much Sandhya, you absolutely cannot miss Masala chips in any of the fast food restaurants in Kenya.
Natalie
March 9, 2022 at 3:34 am
Oh wow, this looks delicious. I have to make this asap. Flavors are amazing!
mayurisjikoni
March 9, 2022 at 8:13 pm
Thanks Natalie, enjoy when you make kenyan style masala chips.
sizzlingtastebuds
March 11, 2022 at 12:46 am
Pototoes. fries. street food. Who could possibly say no?I have some frozen fries at home, am thinking this could be a surprise treat for the kids during the vacations!
mayurisjikoni
March 11, 2022 at 3:48 pm
Thanks Kalyani.
Jayashree T.Rao
March 11, 2022 at 3:20 am
Kenyan style masala chips makes a good snack to munch anytime. Will make it with the frozen chips that we often store at home. Yummy snack.
mayurisjikoni
March 11, 2022 at 3:47 pm
Thanks Jayashree, enjoy when you make these Kenyan Style Masala Chips.
Azlin Bloor
March 12, 2022 at 7:54 am
I’m really looking forward to making these, or rather one of my daughters making them! I’m glad to see we can use frozen chips to make this, as it sure cuts down on the time! We always have some in the freezer. Can’t wait to try them!
mayurisjikoni
March 12, 2022 at 2:40 pm
Thank you so much Azlin, while restaurants use leftover chips or fries, I like using frozen ones as it gives me the opportunity to bake them. And for sure it cuts down the cooking time. While the chips are in the oven, chopped the onions,garlic, chillis and prepared the sauce.
Radha
March 13, 2022 at 10:00 pm
Yummy! This is a comfort food! Love the flavors and how easy to make this. I have tried with different sauces, but this sounds very tasty! Bookmarking to try.
mayurisjikoni
March 14, 2022 at 4:44 pm
Thank you Radha, please do give this recipe a try. It is simply delicious.
Sujata Roy
March 14, 2022 at 10:38 am
Kenyan style masala chips looks irresistible Mayuri. All the spices, ginger garlic chilli tomato and sauce mixed chips definitely taste mouthwatering. I would love to try it soon. I will also try it with frozen chips.
mayurisjikoni
March 14, 2022 at 4:37 pm
Thank you so much Sujata, am sure you and your family will enjoy this dish.
Poonam Bachhav
March 15, 2022 at 1:07 pm
Kenyan style masala chips look super tempting, especially for the way the French Fries are coated with the sauce. Would love giving it a try for my boy.
mayurisjikoni
March 15, 2022 at 2:51 pm
Thank you so much Poonam, am sure he will love them.
Sasmita Sahoo
March 24, 2022 at 3:03 pm
Kenyan Style Masala Chips sounds super easy to make. So spicy and tasty chips I can enjoy as afternoon snacks. I would love to make sometime
Preethicuisine
March 26, 2022 at 10:04 am
Kenyan style mandala chips sounds incredible . I will definitely try this as my boys love French fries. Street food is always awesome .
mayurisjikoni
March 27, 2022 at 6:13 pm
Thanks Preethi, am sure they will love it.
Swati
March 27, 2022 at 2:08 am
We have tried fries with various spice mixes but never made masala chips this way.These look incredibly delicious and so easy to make. I am going to make these asap. Thanks for sharing masala chips recipe.
mayurisjikoni
March 27, 2022 at 6:10 pm
You’re welcome Swati, hope you love them as much as I do.
The Girl Next Door
March 27, 2022 at 6:01 am
French fries by themselves are irresistible. You have made them all the more alluring by coating them with this delectable masala! 🙂
The Kenyan style Masala Chips look delicious and very interesting. Bookmarking your recipe to try out shortly.
mayurisjikoni
March 27, 2022 at 6:09 pm
Thank you so much Priya. Enjoy when you try out the recipe.
Seema Doraiswamy Sriram
March 27, 2022 at 5:24 pm
The masala chip is just outsanding! what a lot f flavour it carries. I can just not resist making it again and again. Wonderful recipe, Mayuri.
mayurisjikoni
March 27, 2022 at 6:06 pm
Thank you so much, am glad you enjoyed them Seema.
Maria
March 29, 2022 at 12:24 pm
Nom nom!! I’m salivating imagining the masala soaked fries! My younger daughter is big fan of potato chips. I’ll be making this soon for her.
mayurisjikoni
March 29, 2022 at 9:00 pm
Thank you so much Maria. Talk to any Kenyan and they will vouch it is their favourite dish and easy to make. Hope your daughter loves it.You can serve it as a side with chicken tikka, kebabs, burgers, etc.
Arfan Ali
June 6, 2023 at 6:16 pm
Excellent recipe, loved making it and enjoyed every bit if it with memories of Exotica in Nairobi, thank you for the recipe.
mayurisjikoni
June 6, 2023 at 9:04 pm
Thank you so much Arfan for visiting my blog. I am so happy that you enjoyed masala chips and brought fond memories of Exotica.