Category: Side Dish

Fried Party Irish Potatoes Video

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Crispy and crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside Ugandan Fried Irish Potatoes that are great for parties and gatherings. Recipe includes video.

Happy New Year Friends! I hope yours started on a good note. I am back and with so much in store starting with this flavorful fried Irish potato dish that I am sure you will love. I included a video to walk you through the process of making these potatoes. This dish is popularly served at gatherings. As we all look forward to a time when we can gather with family and friends, this is a good time to try this dish. 

What you will need:
10-12 Irish Potatoes
1 Onion, sliced
1 Tsp. Garlic ginger Paste
1 Tbsp. Curry powder
Salt
Oil for frying

Observations:

  1. Slicing the potatoes in half helps them cook fully through. If the potatoes you are using are smaller, you can cook them whole.
  2. You can add to the flavor by adding chopped green pepper, chili powder and beef/chicken broth to the potatoes before boiling.
  3. Generously salt the boiling water so that the potatoes are well flavored.
  4. Letting the potatoes cool completely before frying helps create the famous crispy and crusty exterior and prevents them from melting in the oil.

Method

  1. Peel and wash potatoes. Slice the potatoes in half.
  2. Place the potatoes in a separate pan and add enough water to boil the potatoes. Next add the onions, garlic ginger paste, curry powder and salt.
  3. Bring the potatoes to a boil. Boil till cooked through but not falling apart.
  4. Remove from fire and drain the water in a separate bowl. You can use the water to cook other foods since it has a lot of flavor.
  5. Let the potatoes cool down completely. You can even fry them the next day.
  6. Place a pan on fire. Add enough oil to deep fry the potatoes.
  7. Deep fry the potatoes till golden and crispy.
  8. Remove the potatoes from the oil and let cool.
  9. Serve warm alone, with Kachumbali, or your favorite stew.

Use #AkitchenInUg to share your creations.

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.

Curry Spiced Jackfruit Seeds Video

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Curry spiced jackfruit seeds. Learn how to prepare them for cooking and how they can be substituted for other foods. 

Did you know you can eat jack fruit seeds?

I like foods that are versatile and have more than one use. Take a jack fruit, for example. It can be eaten as a meat substitute when unripe, as fresh fruit when ripe and as jam  or juice when over ripe. And we don’t even end there. The seeds are edible as well! I have been eating jackfruit seeds for as long as I can remember and it was an exciting part of the experience of slaughtering the jackfruit where we roasted the seeds after eating our weight in the ripened fruit. Such great times!  Now I deliberately collect each and every seed so that I can cook them. And in case you are wondering, cooking these seeds is not as had as you think. Labor intensive, yes, but not hard. In fact I made a short video that you can watch to understand what I am talking about. 

What you will need: 

2-3 C. Jackfruit Seeds

2 Tsp. Curry Powder

Salt

2-3 springs of rosemary/thyme

A splash of

Vinegar

Observations:

  1. Make sure you are using ripe jackfruit seeds.
  2. Make sure to use seeds that have not started to sprout. If a seed shows any slight sprouting or looks green, discard it. 
  3. The size and of the seeds depends on the type and species of the jackfruit flesh you are eating. Some fruits have thin flesh while others have plump flesh. 
  4. Jackfruit seeds have 3 layers of protective coverings. Two will be removed. to reveal a third layer which is edible and you do not need to remove it. 
  5. Drying the seeds helps loosen the second protective covering so that it is easier to remove. 
  6. if you don’t fancy curry since, you can use whatever spice blend you have/ prefer. Salt and pepper works well too. 

 

Method

  1. Slaughter the jackfruit.
  2. Remove and set aside all the seeds. 
  3. Remove the initial gummy-like protective covering form each individual seed. and wash them.
  4. Place seeds in a clean pan, add water and bring them to a boil. Boil seeds for about 30 or until they are soft and tender when pierced with a fork
  5. Drain the seeds and place them on a tray/flat plate to allow cooling and drying. They should dry for about 6 hours. 
  6. After they have dried and the second protective covering has loosened a bit, peel off the covering from each seed. 
  7. After peeling all the seeds, place a frying an on high heat. Add oil, salt, curry powder and the seeds and mix well
  8. Let the seeds cook in the oil for about 20 minutes on medium-high heat. Stir occasionally so that heat is evenly distributed.
  9. You can bake your seeds if you have an oven. 
  10. Add a splash of vinegar/lemon juice to the seeds  and 2-3 springs of rosemary/thyme to add to the flavor. 
  11. Remove the seeds from fire once they turn a vibrant golden brown color and  are crispy on the outside. 
  12. Serve as a snack or a substitute for roast potatoes. 

Have you eaten jackfruit seeds before? 

Use #AkitchenInUg to share your creations.