Ugandan cuisine draws on its natural resources, with potatoes, plantains, beans, Ethiopian eggplant and leafy greens appearing in many dishes alongside chicken, beef, mutton and goat. Try meat stew steamed in banana leaves for an authentic Ugandan culinary experience, and don’t forget to add a good dose of peanut sauce or sesame paste to any dish you like. Boost your protein levels throughout the day with snacks like roasted grasshopper and fried white ants, and wash it down with a fermented banana beer known as Pombe.
Staples:
Matooke Boiled or Mashed Plantain/Green Banana
Ugali/Posho (cornmeal porridge/dough)
Millet, Irish Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Cassava, Posho (ground maize), beans, Rice, Soybean, Nakati Ethiopian eggplant
Leafy green stews of Amaranth (dodo), nakati and borr
Mugati naamaggi (bread and eggs) wheat pancake filled with minced meat and raw egg
Rolex – chapati filled with minced meat and vegetables
Meats:
Chicken, Beef, Mutton, Goat
Luwombo – meat stew steamed in banana leaves
Fish:
Nile perch, Tiger fish, Ngege tilapia, Mputa, Mukini
Condiments:
Groundnut/peanut sauce
Sim-sim sesame paste
Snacks:
Samosas, Chapatis,
Nsenene roasted grasshopper, Nswaa fried white ant
Dessert:
Mandaazi (deep-fried dough cakes with cinnamon or sugar),
Fruit:
Mango, pineapple, avocado, banana, plantain, passionfruit and jackfruit
Beer:
Nile Special, Bell and Moonberg
Pombe fermented banana/millet beer
Spirits:
Uganda Waragi (local gin)
Drinks:
Chai Tea
Courtney Gahan is a serial expat, traveller and freelance writer who has bartered with Moroccan marketeers, seen the sun rise at Angkor Wat and elbowed her way through crowds on NYE in NYC
