Category: fusion

Introducing Our Food Stories Podcast

~ Sophie ~ 2 Comments

Welcome to Our Food Stories: A community podcast by Ugandans for Ugandans sharing food stories from all over the country. Our Food Stories is a show, hosted by A Kitchen in Uganda, about our food and owning and telling our stories of it. It is about how food is not only fuel for the body but a means for most to build community, culture and even identity. As a way to preserve our indigenous foodways, each episode will have a unique guest who will talk about food stories passed down to them by generations past.

Ever wanted to know more about Ugandan food? Ever wanted to hear food stories of generations past and how some of your favorite foods came to be? I am so excited for you to finally listen to Our Food Stories! This podcast was born out of a need to dig deeper and learn more about the food that bonds us as a country. After many months of planning and reaching out to you, it is my greatest joy to finally share this podcast with the world.

The purpose of this podcast is to share food stories, educate, share knowledge and inspire foodies. This podcast is for story lovers and tellers, food historians, foodies, anthropologists and everyone in between. New episodes will be released every two weeks. You can binge listen to the first 3 episodes right now by clicking here.

Because this is a community podcast, any and everyone that is Ugandan and has an interesting food story to share can contribute to the podcast by sending an email to: contact@akitcheninuganda.com with the subject line: My Food Story so that we can share details on how to contribute. You can also send us a DM to @akitcheninuganda on Instagram to contribute to this podcast.

Connect with us on the socials using #ourfoodstoriesUg  and let us know what you think of the podcast so far.

Listen to the podcast on:

Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

Spotify

Stitcher

Anchor

Castbox

Afripods

YouTube

Subscribe to the podcast and stay tuned for more stories coming your way. Don’t forget to leave us a review on Apple podcasts!

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Sweet Mandazi Pudding

~ Sophie ~ 2 Comments

Mandazi Pudding. Have a party and you couldn’t care for cake that much, grab some mandazi, milk, eggs, sugar and all the aromatics and all of a sudden you have this impressive beast of a dessert.

Mandazi: The ultimate east African snack. Although this snack has multiple variations in each county, region and household, you can be assured that the feelings Mandazi evoke are the same across worlds. If you want a quick snack for visitors, Mandazi come to the rescue. In need of a quick but filling breakfast, Mandazi and some ka chai will have you sorted out. In need of a quick lunch without the hustle of looking for a descent eatery, Mandazi has got your back. I cannot recall the number of times I have had a pack of Mandazi on me for emergency situations while running errands in Kampala. What I am trying to say is that Mandazi are versatile. And to be honest they are perfect on their own. So perfect that they don’t need to be enhanced.

BUT.

Just imagine with me, if you will, what would happen when you take this trusty and unassuming snack and drown it in a bath of milk, eggs, oil or butter, sugar and all the warm spices and flavors, then bake it until it has soaked in all the milky goodness. Top it with thick and wickedly sweet condensed milk and sprinkle with some raisins. wouldn’t that be such a delicious treat? See, what happens now is that you have a completely different snack. I’m going to let the photos speak for themselves. Have a party and you  don’t care for cake that much, grab some mandazi, milk, eggs sugar and all the aromatics and all of a sudden you have this impressive beast of a dessert. I made it for my sibling’s birthday and I didn’t miss cake at all.

Sweet Mandazi Pudding Recipe

What you will need:
12-14 mandazi
1 can condensed milk
1 C. Water
2 eggs
1/4 C. Oil/ Butter
Handful of raisins
1/2 Tsp. Nutmeg
1/2 Tsp. Ginger, ground
1/2 Tsp. Cloves, ground
1/2 Tsp. Lemon zest
1 Tsp. Vanilla essence
1 Tbsp. Lemon/Lime juice
A pinch of salt

Observations

  1. I didn’t add any sugar since the condensed milk is already heavily sweetened.
  2. If you are using salted butter, you can omit the pinch of salt.
  3. Letting the pudding rest after baking will allow it to cool down and for easy removal from the baking pan.

Method

  1. Break the mandazi into bite sized pieces and set aside.
  2. In a clean bowl mix condensed milk, water, eggs, oil/butter, vanilla, lemon juice and salt till a thick milky syrup is formed.  Stir in the nutmeg, ginger, cloves and lemon zest.
  3. Soak the broken mandazi pieces  and raisins in the milk bath for 10 – 15 minutes.
  4. Transfer into a greased cake/bread pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes.
  5. Let the pudding rest for another 15 -20 minutes before serving
  6. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream

Use #AkitchenInUg to share your creations.

Omunanansi (Pineapple Juice) Video

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Fermented Pineapple Juice that uses pineapple peelings. Can be served as both a hot and cold beverage. Excellent at providing relief for colds when served with lemon juice, ginger, cinnamon and honey. 

This pineapple juice has been a family tradition for as long as I can remember and I have wanted to write about it for the longest time but somehow circumstances could not allow. 5 years later and I finally post it with a video! I remember as a child that whenever we had pineapples, we would make huge pots of boiled pineapple peelings and have juice to last days. It is really simple. You cut the pineapple and eat it then boil the peelings on low heat for an hour or so. Strain the juice, add a sweetener and let the juice rest over night and drink it the next day. If the weather is cold or chilly then you can drink it as a hot beverage.  What makes this juice special is the fermentation process that takes place when you allow the juice to rest overnight. This completely transforms the flavor and adds a bite, for a lack of a better word really, to the juice. 
Some people go as far as to add other fragrant ingredients like lemon grass, cinnamon, cloves, etc. You can spice it however you wish.
So today I am sharing this video of this simple pineapple juice in hopes that the next time you have a pineapple, you can try it.


What you will need:
1 Large ripe pineapple
Water
Sugar

Observations.

  1. This juice works well with over ripe pineapples especially if they are too ripe to eat.
  2. Before cutting the pineapple, make sure it is thoroughly cleaned.
  3. You can use the peelings as manure/ compost for your vegetable garden. 

Method

  1. Peel the pineapple and eat.
  2. Gather all pineapple peelings and place them in a clean pan. Add water.
  3. Bring the pineapple juice to a gentle boil over medium heat. Let the pineapple juice boil for about 30 minutes.
  4. Remove from fire and let it cool down completely.
  5. Sieve the juice from the peelings.
  6. Add about two more cups of water and use your hands to juice the remaining peelings. Sieve and add to the rest of the juice.
  7. Discard the peelings.
  8. Sweeten your juice and let it rest over night in room temperature. 
  9. Serve cold with ice cubes or hot as a beverage immediately after cooking.

Do you enjoy this type of pineapple juice? 

Use #AkitchenInUg to share your creations.