EATING CUSTOMS IN UGANDA

There are some very distinct eating customs in Uganda; some are common throughout East Africa, some quite unique.  Probably the non-use of cutlery is the single most difficult thing for Westerners to get used to when eating in a local Ugandan restaurant.  This is also true of most Ugandans in their homes, with the exception of the modernized urban Ugandans that have transitioned to forks and knives.  Coupled with eating with one’s hands, is the tradition of someone bringing to the table a bowl with a bar of soap and warm water to wash one’s hands.  Customarily, one person will go around the table and pour the water into the bowl as one by one each person seated will clean their hands.  Occasionally, there will be a towel or serviette to dry one’s hands, but more often not.  Likewise, after the meal, someone will go around again and offer water and soap to wash everyone’s hands.

Now, if you are in a 5-star lodge in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest or on safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park and sleeping in one of the Resorts in the forest, you will definitely be served cutlery. Likewise, if you are dining in an established restaurant in any of the urban destinations such as Kampala, Jinja or Entebbe you will not be eating with your hands.  But in many of the smaller towns and villages, you should be prepared for this adventure.

When ordering in a local restaurant, one soon discovers that most meals are a one-course affair.  Everything you are served is on one plate; if it is a buffet, people will pile the various items next to and on top of one another in a heap.  If you are ordering from a menu, it is totally different than in a Western context.  For instance, if you order beef stew with mashed potatoes in the West, here in Uganda you would order Mashed Potatoes as the food and beef as the ‘soup’. 

So, when you arrive in a restaurant that does not have a menu, which is typical of most Ugandan local-food establishments, you would first ask the waitress, “what food is there?”  To which she would reply, Matoke (bananas), Posho (maize meal), potatoes (sweet potatoes), Irish (white potatoes), rice, and cassava (root vegetable).  Then you would ask, “What soup is there?”.  To which she would reply, Fish, Beef, Goat Meat, Beans, and Cow Peas (green peas).  Then you tell her what you would like to eat.  An example would be: “rice, Irish and Matoke…..for soup I will have fish”.  You would then get 2 plates served, one with the starches on it, piled high and another would be a bowl with a piece of fish in a soupy gravy”.  If you want to eat with a fork, you have to order that as well, as most people will be eating with their hands; something that local people will tell you enhances the flavor.

A typical dish that many people prepare in their homes, as well as in restaurants is called “katogo”.  It is what we in the West would call a ‘combo” or combination dish.  There are various combinations; cassava and beans is a common one, also matoke and fish, matoke and beef, matoke and ofers (intestines).  These combos are cooked together and served as chili would be in the West.  These dishes are commonly served for breakfast.  

On the subject of breakfast, it is more common these days to have eggs and toast in local restaurants, but not always.  A Ugandan version of a Spanish Omelet (without the potatoes) is the most common; fried eggs are always well done, as Ugandans do not eat eggs with a wet yoke.  Hard boiled eggs are commonly found on breakfast buffets in local hotels and guesthouses, as opposed to someone cooking up a couple of eggs ‘as you like them’.  Fruits are rarely served at breakfast, and if they are, it is a small slice of pineapple or watermelon; something strange, as there is so much fruit in Uganda and it is of very high quality.

There are sometimes foods served in restaurants that we are more accustomed to.  These are classified as “snacks”; though their size is similar or bigger than the regular fare, and usually more expensive.  All these snacks are fried; they can be fish and chips, beef and chips, goat meat and chips, chicken and chips or liver and chips.  The fish is deep fried and usually a whole fish, including head, tail and fins.  The beef, goat meat and liver are usually fried with onions and green peppers in a thin gravy.  The chicken is deep fried.  Everything comes with chips; French fries as we know it.   Snacks are usually what you can order in a bar or in a restaurant after the regular foods are finished.

Many times when you are invited to eat in someone’s home, it is not uncommon for them to set you up in a chair with a small table.  Then the people will roll out a mat on the floor and sit by your side, eating on the floor.  Many local people are unaccustomed to eating at a table, and even prefer to eat on the mat.  It is also not unusual for the hostess, after serving the guests, to return to the kitchen and eat there, sometimes alone. Different tribes have different traditions and there can be slight variations from one tribe to another.

A tradition among many tribal members is to cook and serve a whole chicken and place it in front of a ‘special guest’.  This chicken is a gift to that one person and usually that special guest will take as much of the chicken that he wants, and then passes the remainder around for everyone to have a taste.  Chicken is the most expensive meat in Uganda and is usually served on special occasions, such as Christmas, Easter or a birthday celebration.  Similarly, a whole goat could be slaughtered and cooked for a gathering of a larger group; also a celebratory feast. 

Deserts are unusual, although most Ugandans love sweets and cakes.  Traditionally, there are no deserts served, but as things get more Westernized in Uganda, one can see these things on the more upscale restaurant and hotel menus.  Similar as in the West, deserts range from cookies and cakes to fruits and even ice cream in a select few places. 

Immediately, you have finished eating your meal, your plate will be whisked away from you at great speed; probably the quickest movement throughout the meal.  I find this so unusual, that sometimes I think that they need my plate to serve food to another person.  It is customary to thank the person that serves you for the food by saying, “Thank you for preparing food for me”.  The common response is, “Thank you for eating”.

One of the most pleasant customs in Uganda is that of sharing.  When one encounters a person eating their lunch, be it someone you know, or a complete stranger, before even greeting you, they will offer to share their food with you; and they are earnest.  A variation on this theme is when you go to someone’s house and they are eating, you will be immediately served some of the food that they are eating.  This generosity and hospitality is unequalled and is quite humbling.

Jewel Safaris knows only too well how important the food component of any trip can be.  It is not unusual for the Jewel Safari guides to incorporate into the itinerary of our tours, more than one visit to a local Ugandan restaurant so that our clients can taste some of these traditional foods.