These Ugandan dishes will blow your mind

Ugandan food is not very well known outside the country, but in my humble opinion it should be! I am all for trying different foods (the varied, the better) – no matter where I am traveling, I prefer to eat local. No McDonalds or KFC if I can help it. I bet 90 per  cent of the travellers will agree to this food philosophy – eat like a local. Always.

Unfortunately, as I said earlier, not much of African cuisine is appreciated outside of Africa, for truth be told,  it is indeed carb-rich. I do not have a problem with carbs, considering that when in Africa I end up walking a lot and carbs are definitely needed for those long and often uphill walks.

What do I eat in Uganda?

I find it disheartening when people say “Urrrgh, just what do I eat in Uganda? Is there anything at all? I mean, just what do people eat? Are there any vegetarian options? Or is it all “game meat” and cassava?

That really is an unfair question. Agreed, Ugandan cuisine is not as varied or flavour-rich as Indian or Mexican or Thai food, but what the heck, they have been eating something all these years now haven’t they? Agreed, the food is starch-rich (yet they do not worry about calories, its all the exercise they get of walking up and downhill in harsh conditions – so one up for Ugandan cuisine!!!) and rather shy away from fiery spices, but you cannot write their food off the “must try” list.

I have spent a considerable time traveling in Uganda at different times in my life – and every single time, I have wanted more of their food. In fact, I love Royco (a blend of herbs, spices, cornstarch, salt and flavour enhancers) so much that I use it in my everyday cooking as well. Same as the beans and margarine.

Here is what you can eat (and fall in love) 

Matooke: Boiled and mashed green banana (call it the national dish), eaten at all times of the day (a local equivalent to mashed potatoes). It is served with every meal – breakfast, lunch or dinner. Often served with a sauce (gravy of chicken, meat or fish) or G-nut sauce. Healthy but if you are not used to eating raw bananas in such large quantities, you could end up with some tummy disorder. Or, make sure you walk or run – just to work it all off.

Posho: Corn meal (called Ugali inTanzania and Kenya), eaten alone or accompanied with chicken stew or beans. It’s also the  ‘comfort’ food of all East African countries – wholesome, quite bland in taste but keeps you going for a long time!

Chipathi: Chapathi to the rest of the world, it is the ‘gift’ of the Indians living there. Served in many forms – torn into shreds, wrapped around an omelette (called Rolex in Uganda), or minced meat with veggies. Quite popular in the town area – hard to find outside the city though.

Fried grasshoppers

Luwombo: Fish, chicken or beef cooked with G-nut (peanut) sauce in plantain leaves. Quite a delicacy in these parts – but quite difficult to keep it down especially if you don’t like the strong smell of salted (dried) fish in the gravy.

Pumpkin, cassava, sweet potato, chips are the standard cuisine. In fact, when I ordered a meal at a street side restaurant, what I got what this. (See pic).

A portion of rice, a piece of boiled pumpkin, cassava, sweet potato and tiny brinjal (rather bitter). Pumpkin is not my favourite vegetable (and definitely not the boiled one), but combined with the bitter flavour of the brinjal, it tasted alright. That’s your vegetarian option for you. It is also a well-balanced meal.

Tomatoes and greens are eaten in plenty (you will hear and ore often see sukuma wiki, local variety of collard greens). But beyond that, you will have to stick to beans. Chapathi with beans, rice with beans, posho and matooke with beans…the bean combination is endless.

If you feel particularly adventurous, try the “chips and chaps.”

It is ground meat (no one tells you what meat and which part of the animal it comes from – but I can make an intelligent guess), mixed with flour and eggs and fried.

Okay, let me admit. I couldn’t eat all of it.

Snacks in Uganda are mostly g-nuts, small sweet bananas, or chapatti. Also popular is raw sugar cane, sliced off the branch and chewed, or fried cassava which is cut into large sections and deep fried.

Here is a bit of warning!

Go for a good long walk after every meal. The food is starch-heavy and sedentary lifestyle, even for a short duration adds to the ‘holiday weight.’ You want the memories of Uganda to be of the wildlife and the people, not the holiday weight!