Adventures in Eating

Probably one of my favorite things to do when traveling is trying out new foods. However, since I have been to Uganda before, one of my favorite things to do is eat the food I loved during my last visit. I can’t say I’m the most adventurous eater—I still haven’t tried the fried grasshoppers they sell along the roadside—but I’m not a picky eater either, which means I’ll try anything that is known by most people’s standards to be edible J. So, without further ado, here’s what I have been eating.

Rolex—No, it’s not the fancy wrist watch, rather a fancy egg roll-up. They whisk the egg with some cabbage, onion and tomato, then they fry it over a charcoal stove. Once the egg is almost cooked through, they place a chapatti (kind of like a thick tortilla) over it, flip the whole thing over, and warm up the chapatti. After it’s warm they roll the whole thing up like log and then I get to eat it!  Yum!

Indian—I have to say, Uganda has some awesome Indian food! My favorite is the spinach kofta with sauce, but I like pretty much everything. Plus, I love dipping the naan bread in the sauce and scooping up the meat and veggies. If I eat out in Uganda, 90% of the time I’ll try and get some sort of Indian dish. Man, my mouth is just watering thinking of it… The picture below is of my fabulous fish marsala as well as an unusual, and uninvited, dinner guest—a bunny. He must like Indian food too.

Steamed matoke with groundnut sauce—My friend Gloria came over for Ugandan’s Independence day (which was last Thursday) and she made this for us. Matoke looks like a green banana and tastes sort of like a potato. Usually I see it mashed and cooked in banana leaves, but I think this makes for a sticky or tacky-like texture. Steamed is probably my favorite way of eating it. Plus, I am a huge fan of groundnut (gnut) sauce, which is basically like crush peanuts with sautéed onion and tomatoes mixed with some spices. To the common, American eye this dish probably looks unappetizing; it is quite the opposite—full of flavor, even though it’s a simple dish.

Well, that's all for now folks. If I ever manage to talk myself into that whole grasshopper eating thing, I'll be sure to post that picture too :) because I'm pretty sure eating fried grasshoppers will be a one time thing!