Traditional Ugandan Food Everyone Should Try
Sitting at a crossroads geographically and culturally, Ugandan cuisine has adopted a myriad of different cooking styles and tastes.
A landlocked country in East Africa surrounded by five other countries and most of Lake Victoria, the continent’s largest, Uganda has experienced internal and external migration of people over thousands of years.
With the arrival of the British it also meant an influx of workers from the Indian subcontinent, adding these flavors to a growing list that includes native, British and even Middle Eastern food.
Matook
Found historically in the more tropical southern part of Uganda, matooke is considered by many to be the country’s national dish.
Instead of being made from any starch-rich flour, matooke is made from mashing and steaming green bananas – East African highland bananas, which are deliberately harvested from the tree while they are still green.
Steaming turns the firm, white fruit into a softer flesh that is cream or yellow in color.
Matooke is also used to make the katogo breakfast dish. In this dish, peeled matooke bananas are cooked with peanuts, pieces of beef, or offal (byenda).
Malewa
Found mostly in the Bugisu sub-region of Uganda around Mount Elgon in the east, malewa consists of dried bamboo shoots taken from plants that grow wild in the area.
Playing an important role in major ceremonies such as weddings and male circumcision in this part of the country, malewa can be eaten plain and raw, or steamed or boiled, much like you would eat beef jerky.
Alternatively, it can be cooked into a sauce by adding sim-sim (sesame seeds) or peanuts.
The sauce is then served with matooke and similar carbohydrate-rich accompaniments common in Uganda, such as posho, which appears next on our list of traditional Ugandan dishes.
Luwombo
This is a traditional Ugandan dish, in which chicken, beef, mushroom or fish soup is steamed in banana leaves. This Ugandan dish has long been prepared at home for special occasions. Today, Ugandans turn to restaurants to avoid hours of preparation, but the dish is as popular as ever. This Ugandan dish is believed to have been created by the personal chef of Kabaka Mwanga (the last independent kabaka (ruler) of the African kingdom of Buganda) in the late 19th century in the Kingdom of Buganda.
It can be prepared using any type of meat; Chicken, pork, beef or lamb. It is usually prepared by seasoning the meat with cinnamon and ginger and then boiling it. When soft, drain the water, add pasta and other desired seasonings. The meat mixed with spices is then wrapped in smoked banana leaves. The wrap is then placed in foil and baked for about 30 minutes.
Posho
Posho is semi-firm corn porridge which is a traditional basic dish in Uganda. and served as an accompaniment to stews of meat, fish or vegetables. It is a dish similar to Ugali in Tanzania, Shima in Mozambique, Pap in South Africa and Namibia.
This Ugandan dish, is a type of corn, millet, or cassava flour porridge. To eat Posho, pull up a small ball of pulp with your finger. Form an indentation with your thumb, and use it to scoop out stews and other dishes. Or you can form larger balls with your hands or an ice cream scoop, place them in separate serving bowls, and spoon the soup all around. Posho can be eaten with any sauce but is best enjoyed with fresh peanuts.
Are you interested in the typical food of the country of Uganda, if you are interested, you can just visit the marvisdiner restaurant. Because all of these foods are available and I guarantee you will not feel disappointed with the taste.
