Category: main dish

Katogo

~ Sophie ~ 2 Comments

This week, I would like us to talk about katogo . What do yo love most about it?  I googled katogo and found a Wikipedia page dedicated to it. That is good news. I’m sure we all have grown on eaten katogo at one point in our lives.  Katogo is one of the dishes that define Uganda. But then the thing is that you can absolutely customize it to your preference. It is also quick food. You know, chopping up things and throwing (not literary) them in a pan and letting them boil, right? When I made this katogo, people were hungry and needed to eat thus the simplicity though they still bore with me as I took a few snaps of it before it was devoured.

What you will need:

Irish potatoes, peeled and halved

Tomatoes, diced

Onions, sliced

Groundnut powder

Salt

 

Method

In a pan, add all the ingredients with enough salt and water and let the food boil. Stir occasionally to make sure it does not burn (because groundnuts burn easily) while checking the water content. Let it boil till the Irish potatoes are tender. Remove from fire and serve hot.

What katogo combination do you prefer or like cooking the most? What totally radical combination would you like to try or make? This is a basic recipe but I would like to make tilapia, cassava, sukuma wiki and whole roasted groundnuts in beef stock.  That is still edible. No?

Comment below to let me know.

 

In other slightly related news, there will be major changes to the blog from now on wards. There will be rebranding, a change in the domain name and other small things to improve the blog. The changes are for the greater good.  The content will still be the same though. I wanted to mention this beforehand so that you are all aware. Thanks for reading.

 

🙂

Sophie

 

PS: I did not put any measurements on this katogo recipe because I believe we have different serving sizes and the number of people we are cooking for varies greatly.

PPS: You can use groundnut paste instead of the powder.

Bean Burger Patties

~ Sophie ~ 7 Comments

So  its back to school/work time  and  all  the time for spending hours in the kitchen cooking extravagant meals is over for most of us. No worries though, I got us covered(I think!). Earlier on I shared a basic black bean stew and lately I have been thinking how cool it would be to make a mock burger patty using beans. So I am here to report that the kitchen experiment went well after a couple of trials. These bean burger patties are so filling and packed with flavor they can be eaten on their own.

What you will need:

2 C. Beans boiled and drained

2 packs Soya Chunks

1/2 C. Green onions

1/2 C. Green pepper

1 Small purple(red) onion

2 Eggs

4 Tbsp. Tomato sauce

3 Tbsp. Wheat flour

Rosemary flakes

Salt

Method

In a hollow and fairly large bowl,  mash the beans (do not puree them).  Add the eggs and mix. Next add the green onions, the green pepper and the onions and mix well. Next add the tomato sauce, rosemary and salt. Keep mixing. Empty all the contents of the soya chunks except  the spice sachets  in a mixer and grind them till they are like coarse bread crumbs. If you don’t have a mixer,  put the soya chunks in a paper bag (preferably the ones that store baking flour) and  crush them using a heavy weight object till they are like coarse bread crumbs.  Add the soya chunks  and flour in the bean mixture and continue mixing. Leave the mixture for 10 minutes for the soya chunks crumbs to soak in all the liquid. After 10 minutes, dust your hands and shape the mixture into round disks. Add about a teaspoon of oil in a non stick pan  and gently put the patties in (the size of the pan determines how many patties you can cook at once). Once you add them to the pan, lightly press flat with a spatula  and let them cook for two minutes  on medium heat  and then flip them  and let the other side cook for another two minutes . Repeat the process till all the patties are made. Remove from fire and  let them cool. Makes 14+

The great thing about these patties is that you can  have then as they are (snack anyone?),  or put them  in buns with other vegetables, some mayonnaise or cheese and have  easy burgers.

Another idea is that you can double the recipe and keep the patties refrigerated, you know,  for those days when you just don’t feel like making anything but still want to have a great meal.

Comment below on how they turn out and how you would eat them

Have a great week.

🙂

Sophie

PS: You can use any kind of beans. The flavor will change though depending on the kind of beans you use. Here, I used yellow kidney beans  which are locally known as mairungi

Green Peas And Mashed Irish Potatoes

~ Sophie ~ 6 Comments

Hi there. How is the week treating you so far? Have you ever noticed that peas are generally expensive? Well, except if they are in season or if you cultivate them. But either way don’t you sometimes want to have a fresh pea dish? I do. So I was wondering how to cook these peas and an idea hit me. I made an experimental free form pie a few months ago and the filling was the most delicious. So, this is a recreation of the pie filling. Its one way to prove the filling can be eaten on its own. it’s a really simple recipe. Here we go.

What you’ll need:

2 C. Green Peas boiled and drained

4 small Irish potatoes peeled, boiled, drained and mashed

1/2 C. Grated cheese

1/2 Small green pepper

1 Small carrot, finely chopped

1/2 C. Green onions, finely chopped

1 Small purple onion, finely chopped

Rosemary

Salt

2 Tbsp. Cooking oil

Method

Heat oil in a pan and wait for a minute. Add onions and salt and stir. Next add rosemary and green pepper and keep stirring. Next add the green peas and keep stirring. After five minutes of casual stirring, add the mashed potatoes. Stir till the potatoes are evenly distributed. Add the carrots and keep stirring. After five minutes, stir in the grated cheese and then remove from fire.  Serve warm.

This dish is so simple to make but adds character to otherwise bland meals. It is the perfect side dish. If you are a person who loves spicy food, add a little chilli to enhance the flavor. So try this out and let me know how it turns out in the comments below.

🙂

Sophie