With a wide and diverse range of delicacies from natural and healthy food stuffs, fresh fruits and vegetables all year around, Uganda is really gifted by nature. For anyone visiting Uganda, there is a lot of eating to be done, and you don’t want to miss out on something that Uganda has to offer.
1. Rolex “Roll eggs”
Named among top fast food by CNN, Rolex is a popular Ugandan recipe or street food (snack) which is enjoyed by people of any age, color or tribe. Rolex is served in variations but often consists of eggs cooked into an omelette along with tomato, onion and cabbage. The omelette is then topped or wrapped (rolled up) with a chapati. It’s a quick food found cheap and readily available at most roadside stalls. “And many of our clients have confirmed street Rolex tastes better”
2. (O)luwombo
luwombo is a traditional dish of Uganda. It is both a royal dish and a fairly common dish cooked especially during the holidays. It is believed to have been created in 1887 by the personal chef of Kabaka Mwanga, a king who ruled the kingdom of Buganda at the end of the 19th century. The dish consists of beef/chicken or smoked fish with vegetables like carrots, potato, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed to perfection with just the right amount of salt, oil and spices and groundnuts.
3.Matoke
Call it a national dish! Going to Uganda and not eat matoke is like going to France and do not eat a croissant. Matoke is a banana variety that is considered more of a plantain. The plantains are usually peeled with hand knives, tied in banana leaves and put in a cooking pan with enough water to steam the leaves. Later on, the bundle is removed and squeezed to get a smooth soft and golden yellow smash. The banana leaves are used to keep it. Occasionally, matoke is fried with tomatoes and onions.
4.Muchomo (street meat)
Unknown to many, the mystery of muchomo lies in the roasting and smoking. The roasting process magically draws out the flavors in the meat. Unlike meat that is fried and riddled with curry powder, muchomo is simply meat being roasted with no additives. Street meat can mean a wide range of meats in Uganda from goat to beef to lamb but never pork. You can however find pork ‘muchomo’ in specific bars or restaurants. Muchomo is usually accompanied by gonja (roasted sweet plantains) and can also be enjoyed as a snack.
4.TV Chicken/ Grilled Chicken
TV Chicken is a very popular meal and available almost everywhere in Uganda from street-side vendors. “Why is it called TV Chicken?” This local dish derived its name based on the way it is cooked. The chicken is roasted in a make shift rotisserie oven which to most of the local residents takes the shape of the television. The chicken is roasted beautifully and served with home fries and salad. The best places for TV chicken are Wandegeya Market and Ntinda shopping centre. The vendors get cracking from about 5pm every day.
5. Groundnut Sauce
There is no Ugandan meal that is served without G-nut sauce, and with good reason. This is the things that makes many Uganda dishes taste so yummy and rich. Gnut sauce is a creamy paste made from sweet red peanuts and serves with meals as a condiment. It is served with sweet potatoes, cassava, matoke and even with roasted fish. When you’re in Uganda, there is no buffet that doesn’t include this delicious sauce and with good reason!
6. Nsenene or Grasshoppers
Throughout from November, is the month to harvest, fry, sell, devour and celebrate a Ugandan cultural delicacy. Grasshoppers, or ‘Nsenene’ as it’s locally known. In April 2013, the United Nations (UN) released a report about the future of edible insects as an ethical, more sustainable protein source. Grasshoppers, after all, don’t have much of a carbon footprint when you compare them with the impact of raising cattle for beef.
These edible insects are actually a high value source of nutrition on the wings, researchers have found. They contain exceptionally high amounts of proteins, fat, dietary fibre, and ash. Also grasshoppers provide a cheap and often free source of food as they are freely available in the wild for anyone willing and able to trap them.
Ugandans prepare nsenene in various ways, though the most common is to fry them with onions and garlic and bit of lard and salt. I can say with certainty that these bugs are packed with flavor and make a unique, off-the-wall (literally) party snack. But not only are they saturated with flavor, grasshoppers are also an excellent alternative protein source
If you haven’t tried any of the above delicacies when in Uganda then i would say you haven’t been in Uganda yet.