FOOD!! :)
The Rwandans do not eat very spicy food.
They make their food from local produced
ingredients. There main products that they
eat is : *sweet potato
*beans
*corn
*peas
*millet
* fruit
A traditional breakfast contains potatoes & porridge,
the men like to drink beer but you will
never come across women
drinking wine.
They make their food from local produced
ingredients. There main products that they
eat is : *sweet potato
*beans
*corn
*peas
*millet
* fruit
A traditional breakfast contains potatoes & porridge,
the men like to drink beer but you will
never come across women
drinking wine.
Before the knife & forks were invented people ate with there hands. That is how the traditional Rwandan foods is eaten, although you would never eat with your left because that is considered rude.
The recipe for Fufu and Ugali
One of the main parts of traditional Rwandan (and African) cooking, is Fufu (foo-foo) which is a thick dough usually made from cassava flour. You can also make it from maize flour, which is then called Ugali (you-gaa-li) or Sembe (Sem-bay) and has a distinctive smell.
You can buy cassava flour for around £2.30/$4.60 per kilo at many Afro-Caribbean and Indian stores. There are many videos on YouTube on "How to Make Fufu", but the simplest way using ready-bought cassava flour is as follows:
Both Ugali and Fufu are high in calories but taste of nothing much.
How to cook the Meat and Bean Sauce:
Because of the lack of flavour in Fufu, it is usually served with a thick, rich meat sauce. The main meat in Rwanda is goat, but this can be substituted for lamb or beef and a thick sauce can be made by slow-cooking the meat overnight.
A bowl of meat sauce, with a lump or two of meat in it, is served next to the main dish and Fufu is torn off and dipped in this sauce as it is eaten.
Beans are also a good accompaniment to Fufu. Use a little left-over meat sauce to boil a mixture of beans to pour over, or around, the mound of Fufu. This again adds flavour and beans and Fufu are a very traditional mix. Beans you can use include:
Imboga: Vegetables
Imboga (im-bo-ga, not to be confused with a Water Buffalo: im-bo-goo) is the staple green vegetable that goes with all meals. This is made from pounded cassava leaves, but can be substituted for steamed spinach.
Matoke: Savoury Banana & Peanut Sauce
Matoke (ma-toke-ay) is a dish more commonly associated with Uganda, but also eaten widely in Rwanda.
Matoke is a large, savoury green banana which can be substituted with West African plantain, which is often a little sweeter. Take the skin off the banana, cut in half and boil like a potato. It takes about the same length of time as boiling potatoes and tastes the same, if a little blander.
To give the banana flavour, it is covered in isosi ubunyadbwa (i-sosi oo-boo-nyab-gwa) which basically means "peanut sauce". To make this you need peanuts still in their red shells as this is what gives the sauce its traditional pink colouring:
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One of the main parts of traditional Rwandan (and African) cooking, is Fufu (foo-foo) which is a thick dough usually made from cassava flour. You can also make it from maize flour, which is then called Ugali (you-gaa-li) or Sembe (Sem-bay) and has a distinctive smell.
You can buy cassava flour for around £2.30/$4.60 per kilo at many Afro-Caribbean and Indian stores. There are many videos on YouTube on "How to Make Fufu", but the simplest way using ready-bought cassava flour is as follows:
- Pour boiling water in a bowl
- Add handfulls of flour until all the water is absorbed
- Leave to stand for five minutes, uncovered
- Stir into a thick dough
Both Ugali and Fufu are high in calories but taste of nothing much.
How to cook the Meat and Bean Sauce:
Because of the lack of flavour in Fufu, it is usually served with a thick, rich meat sauce. The main meat in Rwanda is goat, but this can be substituted for lamb or beef and a thick sauce can be made by slow-cooking the meat overnight.
A bowl of meat sauce, with a lump or two of meat in it, is served next to the main dish and Fufu is torn off and dipped in this sauce as it is eaten.
Beans are also a good accompaniment to Fufu. Use a little left-over meat sauce to boil a mixture of beans to pour over, or around, the mound of Fufu. This again adds flavour and beans and Fufu are a very traditional mix. Beans you can use include:
- Red Kidney Beans
- Butterbeans
- Black-Eyed Peas
- Pigeon Peas
- Anasazi Beans
Imboga: Vegetables
Imboga (im-bo-ga, not to be confused with a Water Buffalo: im-bo-goo) is the staple green vegetable that goes with all meals. This is made from pounded cassava leaves, but can be substituted for steamed spinach.
Matoke: Savoury Banana & Peanut Sauce
Matoke (ma-toke-ay) is a dish more commonly associated with Uganda, but also eaten widely in Rwanda.
Matoke is a large, savoury green banana which can be substituted with West African plantain, which is often a little sweeter. Take the skin off the banana, cut in half and boil like a potato. It takes about the same length of time as boiling potatoes and tastes the same, if a little blander.
To give the banana flavour, it is covered in isosi ubunyadbwa (i-sosi oo-boo-nyab-gwa) which basically means "peanut sauce". To make this you need peanuts still in their red shells as this is what gives the sauce its traditional pink colouring:
- Mash peanuts in a grinder or blender to form a powder
- Put in saucepan and top with water
- Add a splash of salt
- Boil for 20 minutes and add more water if needed
- Stir into a runny paste
Read more at Suite101: Traditional Rwandan Meal | Suite101 http://suite101.com/article/traditional-rwandan-meal-a219674#ixzz2Ibg32KXw
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