Food, Glorious Food

One thing I'm probably asked about more than anything else about what life will be like in Uganda is the food. Many people who have been to other parts of Africa seem to think it's all spice but not so. It is very unusual so get any spice or other flavourings in standard Ugandan meals. For part of this post I have pinched some material from the web site of Shem and Catherine Mabongor, missionaries near Mbale, adapted to suit Bugala Island.

What are some of the foods of Uganda?

The diet of Uganda is based on two dishes at each meal.  The first one is a starch and since the starch is usually dry the second dish consists of some kind of soup or stew.  Most things are boiled since oil is very expensive and also because people cook over an open fire.  When the goal is to serve many people and get full, repetition of foods is not really an issue.  People eat what is in season and what they can afford. 

Posho (po-show)
Winning the gold medal for all time most favourite food of the majority of Ugandans is posho.  It is similar to polenta in Italian cuisine.  It is not sweet or savoury but instead takes on the flavour of whatever soup it is served with (usually pinto bean soup).

Posho is made up of finely ground white corn flour mixed with boiling water until it becomes solid.  It is not easy to cook as it must be “mingled” thoroughly and becomes stiff while mixing. 

This heavy food is prized for its “fill you up” ability and it doesn’t have to be peeled, washed, sorted or soaked like some other things.  Maize (corn) is relatively easy to grow and there are grinding mills in most villages so people prefer to grow their own corn and then have it ground into flour as needed.  The flour can also be obtained in large quantities already milled; it is used by all boarding schools as their main staple food. 

If you visit Uganda beans and posho are definitely on the menu!

Chapati
There is no “fast food” in Uganda and actually it is very uncultural to eat on the go.  But chapati come close.  In almost every place where there are people, there is a guy selling chapati (with varying degrees of cleanliness) - even in Main Road, Kalangala.  A dinner plate sized chapati usually sells for about 400 Ugandan shillings (12p), half the price of a bottle of soda.  It takes two to even make a dent in the average hunger pains of most people here.

Chapati are made from wheat flour, water, salt and sometimes a little baking powder.  They are rolled out like a pastry crust but are more hardy and elastic in texture.  After frying in a cast iron skillet with a generous portion of oil they are thick and flaky.  They are sold wrapped in a bit of news paper so the person eating doesn’t have to wash their hands first.  They can be eaten alone or with pinto bean soup.  They are better hot but even cold are acceptable fare. 

Rice
Any special occasion demands rice.  People of Uganda prefer white rice simply boiled in salted water or fried with oil and onions then boiled in beef broth for a pilau type dish. 

Rice is difficult to grow and is harvested by hand; it is therefore too expensive to eat every day.  It is also very time consuming to sort. It is a delight to eat but rather labour intensive.

A few kilos of rice make the perfect gift for any Ugandan host!

Matooke (ma-tow-kay)
There are over 20 variety of bananas in Uganda.  Matooke is the type that is picked green and must be cooked.  It is usually steamed in its own leaves and must be eaten hot as it hardens quickly when cooled.  Left over matooke can be fried with onions and tomatoes for the next meal and is almost better that way. Be warned, however, that this is not a fruit! Most definitely veg!

In some parts of Uganda it is very expensive and is only grown in certain areas of the country. However in the roadside markets it is half the price of city markets.  It takes a special skill to peel the bananas and this tends to be an indicator of a woman’s skills in general.  It is mashed after steaming and served hot.

Cassava (known in South America as Yucca)
The king of starchiness; cassava definitely needs to be prepared properly. It can become bitter if not cooked immediately after harvesting.  It has limited nutritional value but can be dried and pounded into flour to make porridge more filling.

A root that takes several months to grow, cassava is easy to harvest and grows well even in drought.  Cassava is considered a poor man’s food.  It is usually boiled in huge chunks and served with soup or can be sliced thinly and deep fried in oil for an added extravagance.  When diced and boiled with beans it is called “Katogo” and is very nice for lunch and some people rely on it for a hardy breakfast!

Millet
This is the food of many local tribes.  It is cooked similar to posho but has a higher protein content and heavier taste.  It is dark brown in color and is called millet “bread” when mingled although the texture is sticking rather than bread like.  It is especially delicious served with peanut sauce containing smoked fish.  Millet flour can also be boiled in water for a nutritious porridge best served with milk and sugar.

Millet is a tiny bead shaped grain that must be husked then winnowed and finally stone ground after harvest; but first it is meticulously weeded.  The Bagisu tribe has a saying if a task is particularly difficult - it is said to be “like weeding millet.”  Since the grain is dried on the ground after reaping, good millet should be sand free when cooked.

Many a foreigner has mistaken millet bread for chocolate cake before tasting!

Sweet Potatoes
These come in various colours on the outside but are usually white inside.  They are more hardy that the European variety and do not fall apart or turn soggy when cooked. 

They are grown in mounds of soil and are eaten shortly after harvest.  For the most part, they are peeled and boiled whole in water.  They are also good served with peanut sauce.  Their sweet taste contrasts the saltiness of pinto bean soup for an excellent combination. 

Irish Potatoes - or just simply "Irish"!
This is what we just call potatoes.  They tend to be very expensive and do not keep long in this climate.  They usually are russet type and are served simply boiled or fried in tomatoes after boiling.  Mashed potatoes would be very expensive due to the butter and milk required plus they are considered baby food.  Chips are served in larger restaurants but cannot be found in small towns unless you have a friendly local restauranteuse (as we have in Kalangala - Thank You, Mama Aisha!) .  They are not considered food but rather they fall under the “snack” category.

 

Don’t serve an honoured guest mashed potatoes he will think it’s for babies!

SOUP
Ugandans believe that eating dry food is a trial not to be endured.  When I say soup we do not mean stew or gravy but watery soup. These can be made from a number of different ingredients:

Beans
There is any number of beans and similar ingredients available in a culture where meat is very expensive.  They are the main source of protein in the Ugandan diet. Although each variety is distinctive in taste and texture they are all prepared in the same way.  Here is a sample recipe for bean soup.  This one uses pinto beans but it could easily be navy beans, lentils, great northern, black eyed peas; or some that I only know the local name for such as chaloko.

            2 cups dry pinto beans
            12 - 15 cups water
            1 T cooking oil
            1 purple/red onion (thinly sliced)
            3 medium sized tomatoes (diced)
            1 medium green pepper (diced) - optional

Boil beans until soft adding plenty of liquid, cover and set aside. Place one tablespoon of cooking oil into large saucepan; add one red onion thinly sliced.  Fry until translucent then add three medium sized diced tomatoes.  Add diced green pepper if available.  Stir and cook until tomatoes are soft (about 5 minutes).  Then add beans with plenty of water they were cooked in.  Bring to a boil and serve over posho.  Serves 10 people.

Vegetables
Basically any vegetable can make a sauce to eat with the starchy food.  People eat what is available.  They eat better when the harvest is good or when things are in season. Often times, however, people will sell their harvest of peanuts or other expensive (and nutritious) crops because school fees for children come due about that time. So they eat vegetables and get cash for the sellable items.  If the rain was not enough during the growing season people eat less than they need.

Here are some examples of vegetables that are commonly used as sauce:

• Cabbage  - I LOVE CABBAGE!     

• Egg plant OR Aubergines (various types)
• Spinach
• Kale

Things like okra, green beans, zucchini are very expensive for some reason and not commonly used.  I have never seen any broccoli or cauliflower; mushrooms are gathered locally in the wild and are a delicacy very much enjoyed in this culture. It is said that the Ugandans don’t usually like carrots but I've certainly seen them and we've bought them. British children love to eat them raw (properly washed) something a Ugandan would NEVER do.  Uncooked food is not eaten and the government discourages it, to prevent diseases.  

In a culture without refrigeration, it is no wonder that chilled foods are loathed.  To serve a Ugandan potato salad or pasta salad or green salad or a relish tray would be very unkind to them because they would try to eat it to be polite but would hate every bite.

Peanuts
These are pounded into a dry mixture and boiled in water.  The peanut sauce eaten here in Ugandan does not have any other ingredients except salt.  So we are not talking about Thai peanut sauce with lime or Jamaican peanut sauce with jerk flavouring.  Ugandans do not like spicy or highly savoury foods.

This is what peanut sauce looks like on a meal...

 Fish

Uganda is home to the second largest fresh water lake in the world, Lake Victoria, and the source of the mighty River Nile.  The lake has been over fished, restocked by well meaning foreigners with fish that ate the other varieties, etc.  The lake is not polluted as such by chemicals but certainly not drinkable without being filtered. 

Fish is expensive.  There is Talapia, Nile Perch and another kind (very large) called Mputa locally.  Yes, there is also Mukini which are little silver fish similar to anchovies but not preserved in the same way.  Mukini is usually dried and is the most affordable of all types of fish sold.  It is also the most “fishy” tasting.

Fish is usually sold in three ways:

1. Fresh  - available on the island - never far from the lake.  Prepared by boiling and adding fried tomatoes and onions.  The entire fish is eaten, nothing is wasted.
2. Dried  - the drying is sufficient to preserve it during transport but must be eaten or re-dried shortly after purchasing.  This is how mukini is sold.  It must be washed two or three times then boiled with beans or vegetables.  Sometimes it is fried as a side dish.
3. Smoked - this is the most flavourful and preferred way of buying fish.  This is added to the boiling water that will be used to make peanut sauce.

Pumpkin

Although this is a vegetable it is not usually prepared as soup.  It is usually cut into large pieces (unpeeled) and steamed.  It is served as a side dish.  Some are not true pumpkins but are a type of summer squash.  The seeds are soaked in salt water and roasted for a special treat.

CONCLUSION
Well, if you have made it this far in reading about foods of Uganda you are probably ready for a snack.  There are some yummy ones here in Uganda. 

Triangular samosa are thin pastry filled with savoury peas.

There are also mandazi which are doughnuts without the hole. 

Visitors to Uganda often are surprised by seeing signs advertising Rolex – wondering how the expensive Swiss Rolex Watch can be sold here in  roadside stands – it is not the watch but a rolled chapati filled with 2 scrambled eggs, often cabbage, onions, tomatoes and just like the Bigger Fast Food Giants you have choices and different prices – it is no different here in Uganda where the price goes up a bit as you might add minced meat, and added vegetables.

The famous Ugandan Rolex was introduced back in 2003 in the Wandegeya area and began to be consumed by many, especially by the nearby Makerere University Students – today you can find Rolex Vendors, Stands all over Kampala and it is even served in higher priced restaurants – road-side vendors offer them to travellers – it is simply an inexpensive meal and Ugandans rave about it – it has also provides a meaningful income for mostly young men who sell the tasty dish with little start-up capital needed.

The name  Rolex – alludes to the rolled chapati and of course the eggs – in Uganda most every person knows  what a Rolex is.  Here it is not only a breakfast food but is eaten as a dinner meal by many or as a snack – the price is low (50cents and upwards), it is tasty and filling and readily available.

Many a visitor to Uganda has developed a liking for the Ugandan Rolex Fast Food, especially the backpacker crowd as a way to keep their meal budget down and its popularity has now extended beyond Uganda’s borders and can even be found in Kigali, Rwanda in a restaurant there.  There are even videos you can find about how to make a Rolex, visitors to Uganda are consuming them and more.  The next thing you will find versions of it at various fast food outlets in the west.

Caution:  If you are visiting Uganda pick a clean-sanitary Rolex Stand otherwise you just might come down with a case of Idi Amin’s revenge which would certainly dampen your holiday in the Pearl of Africa.

And finally of course there's the FRUIT.

No need to go into any description of these but suffice to say that they're far fresher than anything one would get in the UK. One character (pictured above on the left) which you probably won't have come across previously has become one of my favourite fruits - Jack Fruit - so I'll add another photo below of children in a school eating Jack Fruit straight from a tree in the school grounds. By the way, Jack Fruit is actually the largest fruit in the world and can grow up to 36 inches long and 20 inches in diameter!

 Next time I'm going to tell you a little of my preparations for going to Uganda.

See you later! Tunaalabagana!