African Village Life: Cooking Matooke and Local Chicken The Traditional Way

Recipe for steamed matooke
Ingredients (Serves 4 – 6 people)
• 30 to 40 fingers of matooke that are mature but not ripe,
• Five banana leaves,
• 3-5 pieces of banana leaf stalks
• Water

How to prepare
Peel matooke and wash with plain clean water. Prepare the banana leaf stalks (ebikolokomba) proportional to the size of the sauce pan such that they fit at the base (about 3-4
inches). Add enough water to the level of the stalks. Carefully prepare atleast four banana leaves by removing the stalk (omuzingonyo). Place at least two well-prepared banana leaves in the basket in a crosswise manner and then add the matooke. Neatly arrange and wrap the matooke with 3 banana leaves and secure them with banana fibers (Ebyayi). Carry the well-packed matooke in the earlier prepared saucepan. One by one tuck the banana leaves on top of the other until you
are satisfied that they fit snugly. Place the matooke on moderate fire for atleast 45 minutes to 1 hour. Regularly check the matooke to ensure that it does not run out of water to avoid burning. When the banana leaves have turned brown, this is an indication that the matooke is ready to be mashed and you can now safely remove it from the fire and set it aside. Remove the ready matooke from the saucepan and place them in a basket for mashing. This can be done by using a fresh banana leaf and pressing with hands until its fully mashed. In case the banana leaf is not available, you can improvise with a clean wet cloth to avoid burning your hands. Wrap the mashed matooke neatly in banana leaves and return to the saucepan adding more water underneath and ensure that the water does not get in direct contact with the mashed matooke. Use a mingling stick known as a (mulawo) to pour the water to the bottom of the saucepan. Put the matooke back on the fire/charcoal stove and leave it to boil before reducing the heat and allow it to gently simmer for at least another hour. The longer the better. Ensure that there is adequate heat throughout the process for better results.

Serving
• To get the best taste, matooke should be served when very hot.
• It is advisable to use a local basket (kibo) wrapped in banana leaves.
• It can be served with different types of sauce according to the consumer preference. The most common sauce include; steamed groundnut stew (luwombo), meat, chicken and fish stew among others.

Видео African Village Life: Cooking Matooke and Local Chicken The Traditional Way канала Peace Namawejje