Uganda

When I was researching Ugandan cuisine, the main word that kept coming up was matoke ( or matooke). This word kept being referred to as a green banana. I wondered if this meant unripe banana until I realized that this referred to a native type of plantain. As I only have access to plantains shipped up to my lonely state

of Alaska from Guatemala, I will be substituting these instead.

Matooke is the main staple food of Uganda, as it is the number one crop for the country. There are many different ways to prepare this food, and it is also incorporated into various dishes. Basically, Ugandan cuisine treats matooke the same way you or I would treat potatoes, just in their own way.

I looked further into the cuisine, and I came upon katogo. Katogo was once traditionally a stew that was served for breakfast, but was quickly served any time of day due to how delicious it is.

Classic katogo is simply matooke stewed with onion and tomatoes with spices, but you can find just as many variations on this dish as you’ll find people, so my version of this dish will be my white-people take on this Ugandan dish.

I had to learn how to peel my plantain, and was met with several different options. One lady suggested that I should oil my hands and knife so as to keep the sticky fruit off my hands… absolutely NOT! The thought of oily, slick hands compared with oily, slick sharp objects was a hard no from me ( the intrusive thoughts, y’all). I just dealt with the stickiness and (CAREFULLY!) peeled the plantain just as I would a squash…

After I peeled my plantains, I roughly chopped them and immediately put them in a bowl of cold water to slow the browning process until I was ready for them…

Next, I took about half a yellow onion and finely sliced it. You could dice it if you want; it’s your stew. You do you.

I’m only cooking for two, so that’s the only reason I use half an onion.

Next, I took a pound of stew meat (I found it on sale; you’re welcome to use whatever meat you prefer). I used about a tablespoon of oil, and seasoned the meat with salt and pepper to taste, then browned it over medium heat.

Once browned, I removed the meat and added the sliced onions…

Once the sliced onions are golden brown and soft, I add the tomatoes. Traditionally, you would add actual sliced tomatoes, but I was feeling lazy, so I added a tin of diced tomatoes (shhhh….I won’t tell if you won’t). I didn’t bother to drain the can because the acidity of the tomatoes was essential to deglazing the pot. While that is happening, I added the curry powder. All the recipes I saw said a teaspoon, but I love curry powder, so I must admit that it was a heaping teaspoon, if not two level teaspoons

This is another add-on that is not traditional…. I added a cup of frozen green beans! I have seen some recipes adding them, though it is not traditional, but common. Whether it’s fresh, canned, or frozen, that is entirely up to you, if you want to add them at all. I just wanted to add some extra veggies for funzies.

Once the undrained can of tomatoes and the undrained can of green beans had deglazed the pot and the entire mixture had come to a rolling boil, I added some extra salt and pepper just for giggles. I then added the meat and plantains.

Normally, I would measure out a certain amount of liquid to just cover the plantains, but I just so happened to have some leftover vegetable stock left in my fridge that I needed to use up, so I chose to use that….which came out to just about a cup.

Once all your meat, plantains, and liquid have been added to the pot, bring to a rolling boil. Once a boil is reached, lower the heat to low and simmer until the plantains have achieved the desired tenderness…..from 15 to 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes of simmering, I let the stew cool for 10 minutes before I dug in and….

This is definitely something I will make again! The hearty taste of the plantain combined with the curry flavor and the vegetables…. How have I never tasted this before? This is absolutely going into the book of recipes to make again!