In Nairobi and the small towns of the Rift Valley, one often sees 'Mataha' eaten in makeshift roadside restaurants. It is not really a street food, but an alternative to the more famous ugali that also provides the right amount of protein. For Kenyans, pulses are a salvation and in times of poverty they replace meat. When they can be mixed together, as in the case of Mataha, they also become a simple but effective treat for the palate. It differs from 'mukimo', another essentially pea-based mash, in that it is whiter in colour, due to the amount of potatoes and bananas, than the peas, which in mukimo, with the pumpkin leaves, are the main ingredient.
Here is the recipe for one of the traditional dishes of central Kenya.

Ingredients: (for 4 persons)

2 teacups of peas

2 teacups of red beans

2 tea cups of maize

3 green bananas

4 medium-sized potatoes

1 onion

one teaspoon salt

two teaspoons lard

one teaspoon butter

half a glass of milk

half a teaspoon of curry powder

Preparation: Considering the peas and corn already boiled, cook them in a pan with half a teaspoon of lard for 10 minutes.
Cook the beans for 1 hour. Peel the bananas and fry them for 5 minutes with another half teaspoon of lard, the curry powder and the chopped onions. Boil the potatoes. In the absence of green bananas (in Italy you can use slightly unripe ones) use the boiled potatoes for the previous step.
Create a puree using a potato masher or fork, not a blender, and add salt, onions, a teaspoon of butter and milk.
Shape into a pie dish and serve warm.