One reason we love about Uganda is the Food!!!.
In addition to traditional local foods, Uganda has embraced a vast array of international cuisines including Indian, Chinese, French and Italian. Therefore Most offer both local and international dishes either within Kampala- Uganda’s capital or in hotels and lodges outside of the capital and various cities. Most Lodges and hotels have adopted this same concept in Uganda’s national parks. They serve various cuisines, so if you’re concerned about this part of your trip, don’t be!, there are plenty of choices for everyone’s taste.
While we’re at it, try some local Ugandan dishes that will leave your taste buds asking for more. The more you delve into this country’s many offers, the more fascinated you will be by its many secret treasures. Ugandan cuisine is one of many gems that will deepen your affection for this lovely land.
Here are our top 20 delicious foods in Uganda that should grace your mouth during your tour of the country.
The Rich Breakfast Menu:
1. The Heavenly Ugandan Tea (Chayi)
Accompany your breakfast snack with the Ugandan heavenly tea that is a combination of water or milk boiled with ginger (Tangawizi), holy basil leaves (Omujaaja), cinnamon leaves (Mdalasini), or bark and lemongrass (Kisubi).
These are sometimes processed powders, or you can pluck these leaves and bark from a nearby bush. The sweet aroma always fills the air as it boils, and the medicinal value in this tea combo is good for your health. It would be a substantial loss leaving Uganda without trying this heavenly tea.
2. The Famous Rolex (Rolled Eggs)
Yes, this is not a high-end wristwatch. A rolex is a delicacy that can be consumed any time of day. It’s so deliciously special that almost every Ugandan has a preferred rolex guy, which comes with a certain amount of loyalty. A rolex is made of fried eggs covered in a chapati (flat bread). You may add onions, tomatoes, green pepper, and cabbage to the eggs.
You can eat the vegetable combination cooked or fresh, and you can order a ‘rolex pizza’ upon request. Here, they dice onions, tomatoes, cabbage, chapati, and maybe even green pepper, then combine them with eggs and fry them on a plate. You can buy a rolex at almost every roadside countrywide for as little as UGX 1500/=. Yes, you can only find such pocket-friendly dishes in Uganda.
Fun Fact: There are a few rolex festivals every year, which are fantastic weekend events in Kampala. Look at the Uganda Rolex Festival’s official Facebook page, where the photos speak tantalizing volumes about the event.
3. Katogo Dishes
Kagoto is a traditional breakfast dish in Uganda that will start your day off in great spirits. Katogo means mixture, if it is directly translated. It is a combination of ingredients that is eaten in most parts of Uganda. The key components of the dish are matooke (peeled green bananas) and a sauce (beef, groundnuts, offal, and beans or cow ghee).
Initially, katogo was a mixture of diced cassava and beans. Katogo is a dish that emerged in Buganda and Western Uganda, where it was originally regarded as a poor man’s meal. Later, the trend changed when the Baganda came up with an improved katogo dish version—a combination of offals and matooke. The wealthy elite introduced matooke to substitute cassava, and later, variations of katogo used matooke and other fresh sauces.
Katogo’s influence rapidly spread across Uganda, and the dish has many variants to this day. This popular delicacy is a breakfast dish mainly among Bantu-speaking societies, most metropolitan Ugandans, restaurants, and hotels. You can eat it with salad greens or avocado. The blend of these different foods mixed together creates a beautifully tasty outcome that keeps you satisfied until the late afternoon.
4. Fried Chapati
Corn tortillas are traditional in Mexico. Tacos are common in the United States. Every community on the planet has one bread staple that they consume with everything. Chapati is a popular side dish and bread staple in Uganda, notably in restaurants. This bread is usually sliced into triangular shapes and served as a side dish for the main course.
Chapatis are prepared by mixing wheat flour, baking powder, onions, green pepper, carrots, salt, and water, and the mixture is then flattened and fried in limited amounts of oil. Chapatis, once fried, can be used for a variety of purposes. You may eat them with beans or gravy. You may also use them to wrap minced beef, boiled eggs, and vegetables. A chapati may also be consumed separately from the main course as an accompaniment to your morning or evening tea.
5. Ugandan Rice Balls/Rolls (Namungodi)
Ugandan rice balls (Namungodi) is a deep-fried breakfast snack common among Uganda’s poor and school-age children, but it’s also great for parties. This is a combination of boiled rice, mashed potatoes (which makes the boiled rice stick together), and flour dipped in whisked eggs and other ingredients to add flavor. It is then deep-fried until golden brown to give it that crispy texture.
6. Ugandan Egg Rolls
A Ugandan egg roll isn’t anything like a traditional Chinese egg roll. An egg roll in Uganda comprises a hard-boiled egg wrapped inside a ball of mixed, mashed potatoes with a few vegetables, dipped in whisked eggs, and given a golden fry. You can eat this tasty snack for breakfast, lunch or have it as a side dish. It is sold in almost all hotels and restaurants countrywide.
Lunch: Food and Sauce:
7. Matooke (Steamed Mashed Bananas)
Matooke (matoke) is a popular Ugandan dish and a staple meal for most Bantu tribes. While in Uganda, you can find miles and miles of lush plantain fields in Western and Central Uganda (Masaka).
Matooke is grown from such farms and sent to city dwellers. Plantains are sometimes peeled and steamed, then mashed and served with a sauce of your choice. Matooke can be fried with tomatoes and onions. Ugandans love steaming the green, unripe ones while still unpeeled (Empogola) and lavish on them in the evenings or for lunch with bacon, muchomo, or some grilled beef or goat meat.
8. Chicken-Nut Sauce
Chicken-nut is an uncommon Ugandan dish that you surely have to taste if you want a heartfelt and pleasant meal. It is commonly found in high-class restaurants since it is a bit expensive for the common people to enjoy.
This recipe is made by frying onions, chicken stock, pieces of chicken, spices, and peanut buttercream in a stew pot. After preparation, chicken-nut is generally eaten with rice, posho (Ugali) or matooke, which gives you a feeling of life satisfaction.
9. The Luwombo Stew:
This popular Ugandan stew includes chicken, beef, and fish steamed in wrapped plantain leaves with vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, and peanut (g-nut) sauce. All luwombo stews are covered in smooth, warmed banana leaves and steamed. Luwombo is a sweet, nutritious food that tastes great and gives you a warm feeling.
A. Royal Chicken Luwombo
This is a royal dish that was created in the late nineteenth century for the Buganda Kingdom’s royal family. The luwombo, one of Uganda’s best dishes, was introduced by Kabaka (King) Mwanga’s chef. Bravo to the chef for creating such a wonderful dish that has brought pleasure and happiness to future generations.
It Is now served on traditional Ugandan weddings, and without it, there is no wedding. Chicken luwombo is usually eaten with matooke, rice, cassava, sweet potatoes, or chapati.
B. Beef Luwombo
Like the chicken luwombo, this dish is also steamed in soft, warmed banana leaves. Ingredients include onions, tomatoes, green pepper, carrots, garlic, beef, and optional Irish potatoes. You can add spices for flavor and taste, and it is served with matooke, rice, cassava, sweet potatoes, or chapati.
C. G-nut Sauce Luwombo
When in Uganda, you will see a paste known as the g-nut sauce. This gives many Ugandan dishes their exquisite, vibrant, and leisurely flavor. G-nut paste is a thick creamy sauce of sweet red peanuts, and it complements dishes like roasted fish or it is eaten with dishes such as steamed sweet potatoes and matoke (boiled or steamed mashed bananas).
D. The Beef G-nuts Luwombo
This isn’t like peanut butter. The g-nut paste is made by grinding the seeds with their red skin on to form a flour-like texture, and it is often ground until it contains oil. The beef is occasionally roasted first and then fried with different vegetables before being added to the g-nut paste to give it a delightful scent. This g-nut sauce is poured onto banana leaves, combined with the fried beef and steamed to make a beef g-nut luwombo.
E. The Mushroom G-nuts Luwombo
This follows the same preparation procedure, and the only difference is, the g-nut paste is mixed with mushrooms and steamed in banana leaves to make the mushroom g-nut luwombo.
F. The Fish G-nuts Luwombo
Many people love this stew and consider it to be their favorite. The g-nut paste is prepared in the same way as all the other luwombos, except for the fish preparation. Before being added to the g-nut mixture, the fish is smoked until it no longer smells fishy. Remove the bones before combining the fish with the g-nut paste and steaming in banana leaves.
10. Mashed peas stew (Agira)
This dish is a favorite among the Nilotics (Luo to be specific). The stew is prepared by boiling crushed peas till soft and ready and then mashing it up to a porridge like consistency. The stew is served hot and usually Shea butter oil is added to it for maximum taste. The stew can be eaten with cornmeal (posho), boiled sweet potatoes or cassava
11. Cowpea leaf soup (Boo/boyo)
The boo plant, or cowpea plant, is the base of a popular, traditional dish in northern Uganda. Combined with okra, a paste from sesame seeds and peanuts, and other ingredients, the dish is a regional favorite often served at weddings, as many believe it will bring good luck in marriage.
Boo sauce is made from the leaves of cowpea plants which is plucked off, washed and later cooked till soft with rock salt added to fasten this process, later okra is added to give it it's characteristic taste and look. It’s a traditional and popular dish in the region, and is served here with avocado, onions, tomatoes and posho, a type of cornbread.
The dish can be either pasted with simsim paste or prepared without the paste.
12. Malewa - bamboo shoots stew
Popular meal in Eastern Uganda where soft bamboo shoots are harvested, dried, cut into smaller pieces and boiled. Groundnut or peanut sauce is added and boiled together with the shoots until it is ready to be eaten. It is commonly enjoyed by the Bagisu, they serve it with Matooke.
13. Eshabwe
This is the traditional meal for the Banyankole of western Uganda. It can be prepared using mature ghee of about 2 or 3 weeks, salt, cold boiled water and rock salt without fire as it should be eaten when it’s cold. To make it more delicious, add thoroughly smoked meat since it will be eaten instantly.
Evening Bites:
14. Muchomo (Roasted Meat)
This is what meat lovers would refer to as “paradise” on earth. Nyama chomo comes from the Swahili word for “roasted meat.” Muchomo in Uganda has become a tradition found in top-quality restaurants and roadside in all cities.
It Is eaten with steamed, unpeeled bananas, fresh salads, or chips (fries), and it is very crispy and delicious. Muchomo involves a variety of meats spanning from chicken to pork, goat, and sometimes beef. This dish is perfect as a treat on diet cheat weekends.
15. TV Chicken
This is a delectable Ugandan dish that is popular among university students and the youth of today. TV chicken gets its name from being cooked in a rotisserie oven that looks like a television. The scrumptious TV chicken is on sale at roadside food stalls, and is frequently eaten with salads, smoked bananas, and French fries.
16. Kikalayi (Fried Pork)
You haven’t tasted pork until you’ve had ‘kikalayi.’ The name refers to large and durable locally crafted frying pans used for cooking. Kikalayi is best when enjoyed with mates, which is why it is presented grandly on a large round tray (with optional red chili). If you like pork, kikalayi is something you can try.
17. Roasted Pork Ribs
The tasty pork ribs, barbecued on a stick and sold at roadside bars, markets, and restaurants, are sometimes served with roasted sweet plantain (known as gonja), unpeeled matooke, kachumbari, with avocado and cassava.
Seasonal Delicacies:
18. Fried Grasshoppers (Ensenene)
Why not sample one of Uganda’s exclusive delicacies? Nsenene is a traditional fried grasshopper dish marketed in bars and roadside restaurants.
This famous snack is only available during the rainy season, mostly in November and April. The insects’ wings and legs are removed and the grasshoppers are cooked in the natural oils of grasshoppers. Some marketplaces and roadway vendors sell grasshoppers in plastic containers, which you can purchase and fry yourself. In pubs, they may serve you this treat with any beverage of your choice.
As you fry it at home, you may add small slices of carrots and green pepper and cook it all up. When the grasshoppers are ready, you may add small diced raw onion pieces. The aroma is breathtaking, and the taste of this snack will make your evening heavenly.
19. Roasted Maize/ Corn (Kassoli)
This is a snack for all times. This is fresh corn straight from the garden slowly roasted over a medium fire until all sides turn to a brownish color. If you pluck this fresh soft corn from the garden and don’t cook it immediately, it loses its sweetness.
If you see someone in Uganda roasting corn next to a maize garden, then that corn is deliciously fresh and tasty. Since fresh corn is used, roasted corn is seasonal, and you might not find it all year round.
20. Roasted/ Deep Fried/ Steamed Plantain (Gonja)
Bananas of all colors have undoubtedly surrounded you if you live in Uganda or any other tropical region: green, red, and yellow (they turn yellow when ripe). Gonja or plantain has been used in about a million recipes. If you want the steamed plantain, you can use not-very-ripe gonja.
Go the extra mile and wrap it in banana leaves for that aroma. Steam it, and it will come out yellow, or like a red sausage if steamed for longer. Gonja can be seen on the streets of Kampala during some seasons and show up more at barbecues. You can roast them in your home, but if you don’t have the patience for that, buy them from street vendors for a few Ugandan shillings.
Summing Up:
This collection is just the tip of the iceberg. This list has not included the all-favorite Ugandan tropical fruits and desserts like the revered jackfruit, the juicy sugarcanes and the browny crunchy mandazi or pilau rice, millet bread or Kalo/Karo. Uganda has over 50 closely related subcultures, but with significant differences—food inclusive—covering all that is worthy of several books.
We enjoy both the security of knowing that there will be familiar cuisines and the excitement of trying new ones everywhere we go. This is an introduction to a few revered local dishes that people worldwide have tried and enjoyed. Nothing has been said about diet or religious lifestyle limitations on this list.
When in Uganda, do as Ugandans do!
Take a chance, and for food’s sake—Eat!
