Uganda Organic Culinary Safari
JEWEL SAFARIS understands that for most travelers, new food
experiences can be very exciting.
African cuisine is very unique, not only in the foods that are used, but
also in the way these foods are prepared. In addition, almost all of the produce grown
and the fish and meat are organic. Uganda is a small country, but in terms of the
cultural diversity, it is very big.
There are 45 distinct tribes in Uganda, many having their unique dishes. In our endeavor to provide unique experiences
for our clients, we have prepared information on the culinary pursuits of many
of these Ugandan peoples. This will
enable you to explore Uganda with your taste buds and stomach as well as with
your eyes, ears and feet.
Fruits and Vegetables:
Uganda is famous for growing the finest pineapples in the world. The
combination of the nutrients in the soil and the climatic conditions, produce
the sweetest, most flavourful pineapples.
These are sold throughout Central and Southern Uganda; markets,
supermarkets and street vendors sell hundreds of thousands of pineapples
daily. A number of juice factories exist
in Uganda, as well as huge amounts of concentrated juice is exported daily fromUganda to many countries near and far. Mangoes are grown
throughout the country, with the greatest concentration in the north-central
and western regions. Here, the seasonal
mango growth results in mountains of mangoes on the side of the major roads,
where growers are selling them to travelers on the road. At these times, large mangoes, of various
varieties can be purchased for a few pennies and many people fill up their car
boots with mangoes for their friends and families at home.
Bananas are a
staple food in Uganda; particularly the green plantain variety, locally called Matook”. In Uganda, Matooke is prepared in the
traditional manner; the bananas are peeled, then wrapped in the leaves and
steamed for hours. They are then either
served as is, in stick form, or mashed.
A third option is to take the sticks and stir fry them with onions,
tomatoes, green peppers and sometimes with fish, meat or a puree of groundnuts
(peanuts). Matooke is to most Ugandans,
as rice is to the Chinese, and potatoes are to Westerners; it is the staple
starch and is served 3 meals a day. Matooke
is grown everywhere in Uganda, the largest production of which is in the West,
around Mbarara, where the plantations sprawl like the wheat fields of WesternCanada.
In addition to Matooke, there are a number of other types of
bananas produced in Uganda; a small sweet variety of bananas, which is commonly
called, apple bananas in the West is grown throughout the country. These are sold in the local markets and by
street vendors in the urban centers.
Women ply the streets with large flat baskets on their heads, filled
with these most delicious fruits. There
is also a type of banana that is grilled over charcoal and sold on the streets
in the urban centers and on the roadside of the major highways between cities. There are also regular bananas, (the common
variety found universally) grown extensively.
Similar to the smaller version, these bananas are sold in the markets
and on the street.
Jackfruit is a
somewhat unusual fruit for foreigners; grown in East Africa and in the Caribbean. It is a large green coloured fruit, sometimes
a meter in length. One can see Jackfruit
trees on the side of the road with a dozen or so fruits hanging precariously
from the branches. The fruit is sweet
and has large pits. What differentiates
Jackfruit from other fruits is the sticky glue-like secretion; most people
avoid touching the fruit with their hands, using a piece of plastic wrap to
handle it when eating. One can find
vendors on the streets, selling slices of Jackfruit wrapped in a little baggie.
So many other fruits are available in Uganda; passion
fruits, papayas, watermelons, and guavas, to name a few. Apples are grown in the cooler mountainous
areas and are distributed in the major urban centers.
Vegetables are not grown with the abundance of the fruits
and are equally not as commonly eaten.
The staples are tomatoes, onions, eggplant, cabbage, maize, cassava and
green peppers. Less common are carrots,
squash, and potatoes. Although, in some
areas, a variety of sweet potatoes is widely served as well as rice. These are usually complimentary to the Matooke,
but for those that do not favour the bananas, rice, cassava or potatoes are
substituted. Such vegetables such as
lettuce, broccoli, green beans, spinach and celery are mostly non-existent. Salads are not eaten by Ugandans generally,
with the exception of what we would call a side of coleslaw; and that not very
regularly. The eating of raw vegetables
is not normally seen in Uganda; even the common veggies served like tomatoes, cabbage
and green peppers are usually fried up.
Lake Victoria is the second biggest inland body of water in
the world. As such, fishing is the most
common activity on and around the lake.
Here the most popular catches are the Tilapia and the Nile Perch,
although there are other less common species fished in the lake. A third common fish is the tiny silverfish,
locally known as Mukene. These tiny fish
are caught at night with large nets, brought ashore and dried in the sun. It is not uncommon to come across large open
spaces near the shore in fishing villages that are covered with these small
fish. Their high nutrient content is a
good source of protein for those on tight budgets. Many farmers buy Mukene for their pigs,
chickens and dogs.
The Tilapia is the most popular fish caught in Ugandan
lakes, found in other smaller bodies of water, to the north of Lake
Victoria. The flesh of the Tilapia is
white, and is very popular because it does not have a fishy taste. Traditionally, Tilapia is served in one of
two ways. The most common way is to take
the whole fish intact and deep fry it.
Alternately, some cut the fish in a few pieces and make it into a stew.
The stewed Tilapia is generally served with Matooke.
The other common catch, the Nile Perch, is a much larger
fish than the Tilapia. It is not as
commonly found in restaurants and in markets; it is cooked in a stew and also
deep fried. In both cases, a Nile Perch
is cut into many pieces before cooked, due to its enormous size. It has a much higher fat content to the
Talapia and for many is an acquired taste.
Both Tilapia and Nile Perch are served in local restaurants,
as well as by street vendors at night on the side of the road in busy traffic
areas in the urban centers and on the highways.
The markets throughout Uganda, at least the ones near the lakes, sell
these fish daily. The prices can vary,
depending on the moon the previous night; when there is a full moon, the catch
is small due to the amount of light; when the fish seek darker, deep waters.
The meat selection in Uganda is not that different from the
West, with the exception of a high density of Goat Meat in some areas. Pork, Beef and Chicken are universally found,
with Chicken usually the most expensive and Beef the cheapest. In the larger urban centres such as Kampala,
Jinja, and Entebbe, one can find a variety of meat products such as sausages,
burgers, samosas and meat pies.
The meat, similar to the fish is prepared in one of two
ways. It is either fried, with onions,
tomatoes, green peppers and a very mild curry powder or it is prepared as a
stew. There are some street vendors and
highway sites that serve these meats on sticks after barbequing them. These “roasted” meats, as they are locally
called are very popular with road travelers.
Pork and Goat Roasts, can be found in the western urban centers like
Masaka and Mbarara, and scattered across the country occasionally.
One of the interesting features of meat consumption in
Uganda is that literally every part of the animal is eaten. It is not uncommon to go to a local
restaurant in a small town for breakfast and the only offering is Matooke with
Cows intestines; a favourite for most Ugandans.
Similarly, with Chicken; many times one is served all the parts of the
chicken, such as the head and feet.
These are cultural differences that vary from tribe to tribe and there
is no common cuisine in Uganda, other than the popularity of Mato0ke, which
seems to cross most tribal boundaries…but again, not all.
In addition to the general foods that are found across the
country, some destinations have food traditions that are quite local. We have compiled a list of a few of them,
which we believe will enhance your visit somewhat. This is by no means a complete listing, and
in planning your Safari with us, we will point out any specific culinary
specialties that we might think you would be interested in.
In the Masaka area of Western Central Uganda, there is a
seasonal frenzy of harvesting grasshoppers. At the right time of year, in and around the
town of Masaka, one will be amazed by the hundreds of people engaged in the
luring and catching of grasshoppers.
This is done at night; large tin sheets are erected with lights shining
on them, which attracts and then temporarily, blinds the grasshoppers. Thousands fly into these tin sheets and then
fall down to be caught in the buckets below.
Children are engaged to remove the wings, legs and heads, leaving just
the body. These bodies are then put in
plastic bags and sold near and far.
Generally the grasshopper bodies are deep fried and eaten as a snack,
like popcorn.
Similarly, in the Central district of Uganda, white flying ants are caught; although
here they do not set up elaborate traps for them. When the full moon is out at certain times of
the year, the flying ants will attempt to fly towards the light of the moon,
only to be caught in flight and placed in cups and glasses by the hunters. You see many people walking around with a
small vessel full of these flying ants still flitting around. They are eaten alive, also like a popcorn snack.
In terms of cooked dishes, in and around the Western town of
Arua, which is close to the Congo border, a dish call pillau is very popular. It
is basically a stir fry of rice, some few veggies, with a protein such as beef
or chicken chunks and some “pillau spices”.
This dish is similar to what the East Indians call “biryani” and is
quite tasty, though considerably milder than the Indian counterpart. Katogo is another
Central and Southern Ugandan dish, which is basically a mixture of starch and
half proteins; the most common mixture being beans and Cassava. Cassava is a root vegetable, white in colour
and without much flavor. Other Katogos
might be Matoke and fish, or matoke and beef.
The closest western dish that comes to mind that is somewhat similar is
chilli. Roasted Maize is
one of the many snack foods that one can find sold on the streets. Many vendors have a small charcoal stove with
a grill on top, where the maize is placed and constantly turned. Unlike the west, these cobs of corn are not
served with salt and butter, but just eaten plain. They are a much tougher strain of corn than
we get in the West and are an acquired taste for many visitors.
The Rolex is a
popular street food as well. This is
made up of a thin chapatti, a round flat bread, not unlike a pizza dough,
though the chapatti is fried, not baked. On top of the chapatti, is placed an egg omelet,
followed by a few slices of tomatoes.
This is then rolled up like a “wrap” and eaten with one’s hands.
Another staple snack food sold on the street is the Samosa.
These triangular shaped deep fried treats are filled with either a
vegetarian or meat center. The
vegetarian versions can be a mixture of peas and potatoes, peas and rice or
whatever is around that day. The meat
versions are ground beef usually with some spices added.
Uganda also has its own version of doughnuts, called Mandazis. There are just a lump of dough deep
fried. There is no coating on the
outside, or filling in the inside. It is
not uncommon for Ugandans to have a couple of Mandazis and a cup of tea for
breakfast. Mandazis are served in coffee
shops and by street vendors, as well as in the local shops everywhere along the
streets.
As Uganda develops, so the food choices flourish. Today in cities such as Jinja, Entebbe and
Kampala, one can find a large selection of International Restaurateurs that
offer representative dishes from their homelands. There are a number of Indian, Chinese, Thai
and Japanese restaurants, offering their Eastern cuisines. Also, one can find French, Italian, Greek,
Spanish, German and Scandinavian stand-alone restaurants as well as specialty
restaurants in the major hotels and resorts.
Western food is becoming popular in Uganda, particularly the
fast food versions. Fried Chicken is
extremely popular and there are many Ugandan Fried Chicken fast food
outlets. Recently KFC opened a number of
outlets in Entebbe and Kampala. There
are many foreign owned as well as locally owned restaurants and cafes that have
either a totally Western menu or a significant portion of it. There are many places one can get Hamburgers,
Pizza and even deserts such as Chocolate Cake and Ice Cream.
It is also common to find Western breakfasts not only in the
hotel restaurants, but in many locales around the major urban centers. Recently, a Dutch enterprise, Brood, started
baking European breads and pastries; they now have a half a dozen locations in
Kampala, with outlets in Jinja and Entebbe.
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