Cuisine of Uganda

The cuisine of Uganda consists of traditional cooking with English, Arab and Asian (especially Indian) influences. Like the cuisines of most countries, it varies in complexity, from the most basic, a starchy filler with a sauce of beans or meat, to several-course meals served in upper-class homes and high-end restaurants. Fact|date=February 2007

Main dishes are usually centered on a sauce or stew of groundnuts, beans or meat. The starch traditionally comes from ugali (maize meal) or matoke (boiled and mashed green banana), in the South, or an ugali made from millet in the North. Cassava, yam and African sweet potato are also eaten; the more affluent include white (often called "Irish") potato and rice in their diets. Soybean was promoted as a healthy food staple in the 1970s and this is also used, especially for breakfast. Chapati, an Asian flatbread, is also part of Ugandan cuisine.

Chicken, fish (usually fresh, but there is also a dried variety, reconstituted for stewing), beef, goat and mutton are all commonly eaten, although among the rural poor there would have to be a good reason for slaughtering a large animal such as a goat or a cow and "nyama", (Swahili word for "meat") would not be eaten every day.

Various leafy greens are grown in Uganda. These may be boiled in the stews, or served as side dishes in fancier homes. Amaranth ("dodo"), nakati, and "borr" are examples of regional greens.

Ugali is cooked up into a thick porridge for breakfast. For main meals, white flour is added to the saucepan and stirred into the ugali until the consistency is firm. It is then turned out onto a serving plate and cut into individual slices (or served onto individual plates in the kitchen).

Fruits are plentiful and regularly eaten, as in the Western World, as snacks or dessert. Europeans introduced cake and this is also popular.

ome traditional food names

* Ugali - usually from maize but also other starches, regional names include "posho" and "kwon". Ugandan expatriates make ugali from cornmeal, masa harina or grits.
* Groundnut - peanuts are a vital staple and groundnut sauce is probably the most commonly eaten one.
* Sim-sim - sesame - used particularly in the north, roasted sesame paste is mixed into a stew of beans or greens and served as a side dish, sesame paste may be served as a condiment; a candy is made from roasted sesame seeds with sugar or honey.
* Matoke - Mashed banana that used as opposed to mashed potato. Usually used in a main course.

nacks

*roasted groundnuts served in a spill of paper
* "samusa" (samousa, samosa) -- Indian samosas have been completely assimilated into the local cuisine, as have chapati and curry
* "mkate na mayai" (bread and eggs). Originally an Arab dish, it's wheat dough spread into a thin pancake, filled with minced meat and raw egg, and then folded into a neat parcel and fried on a hotplate.
* "nsenene" is an unusual food item: a seasonal delicacy of a type of grasshopper
* "nswaa" served similarly to nsenene but made of white ant

Beverages

Both traditional and western beers are probably the most widely available alcoholic beverage across Uganda. Pombe is the generic word for locally made fermented beer, usually from banana or millet. Waragi is the generic term for distilled spirits and these also vary, see for example Uganda Waragi a brand name for clear or yellow gin.

Tea ("chai") and coffee ("kawa") are popular beverages and important cash crops. These can be served English-style or spiced ("chai masala").

Coca-cola, Pepsi and Fanta all made inroads in the Ugandan market and soda became very popular.

Externa links

* [http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/Ugandan_cuisine_Food_for_the_soul_72826.shtml Ugandan cuisine: Food for the soul] , "Daily Monitor", October 9, 2008