Palm Oil Fried Beans With Plantain

April 7, 2016January 26, 2017 ~ Sophie ~ 3 Comments

Happy April! Amazingly, the first day of the month was welcomed by a heavy shower that lasted long into the day. All of a sudden, plants that have been thirsty for over 4 months got their fill of rain and now look as green and full of live as ever. Currently we are in the romantic stage of the rainy season. You know where it is so ideal to just pull up the blanket and sleep the whole day, take a hot cup of tea or a warm bowl of soup and watch the sky darken in the middle of the day. This is the time when comfort food is much-needed. First off are these hearty palm oil fried beans with the perfect accompaniment of plantain.

But first, there is something I feel I need to get off my chest.

For the longest time, I feel like there has been a huge misunderstanding between plantain and green bananas. Here in the country though, we do know the difference in our local languages but when it comes to English, the two(and generally all species of bananas) have been interchanged. Plantain is locally known as gonjya while Green bananas are known as matooke.

Plantain is a species of bananas that is eaten when ripe. It is usually steamed/boiled with or without the peelings before eating. When they are ready for harvesting, they slowly start turning yellow. The difference between plantain and regular yellow bananas is that plantain is never eaten raw. It has to be cooked. Plantain is popular in the whole nation. It is even considered street food once roasted and put on a stick/ skewer. Among many others, plantain goes really well with beans. Long distance travellers like buying roasted plantain from vendors because of its filling and sweet nature. As much as plantain is popular, it is pricey and is eaten on rare occasions.

Back to these palm oil beans. Palm oil is a spice in itself and one can be able to detect it from a meal. That is why it is perfect with beans because it adds a flavor even I cannot put into words. Just try it OK! Here is a post I wrote last year about palm oil. One thing I have discovered with cooking is that t is quite hard to stick to specific measurements. I find cooking by instinct a little bit more satisfying. But to kind of give you an idea of the serving size, here is a recipe.

RECIPE COMING SOON

Leave a comment below on what you cook with palm oil. Also, have you found someone who mistakes plantain for matooke?

🙂

Sophie

AKIU’s Top 7 Warm Hearty Soups And Stews

January 19, 2016 ~ Sophie ~ 10 Comments

Last week, I (for the first time in a really long time) read the newspaper for a particular day. It mostly comprised of the issues surrounding the upcoming elections. There was one article that grabbed my attention though. It was about how the weather has completely changed thanks to the El Nino effect. I was prepared to get dusted since January is generally known to be a dusty month. But now that the days are met with half gloom/fog and half rain, it is time to get cozy. Right? Here are seven soups and stews that will add warmth to your mornings and even whole days!

Smoky Eggplant Permesan Meatballs in Homemade Sauce

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

Creamy Potato Soup

And this hearty Katogo too!

Usually I prepare the soups in the night and then warm them up in the morning. Hoe you get warmer with these.

Also, I have received tremendous response from you regarding the free e-book I gave out a few months ago. Over 115 downloads have happened. Thank you. If you haven’t got a chance to get a copy for yourself, please do so before I take it down (in a few weeks’ time).

🙂

Sophie

Classic Katogo: Irish Potatoes, Yams and Sweet Potatoes with Beans

November 10, 2015November 9, 2015 ~ Sophie ~ 10 Comments

If ever there is a list of comfort foods here in Uganda, katogo must be first on that list. Katogo basically means adding whatever ingredients available in a sauce pan and putting them on a stove until everything is cooked. It is that simple. Aside from the tedious task of peeling the potatoes and yams before hand, katogo is the kind of comfort food that is effortless. I decided to combine three tubers; sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes and yams (the purple kind). The tubers give the meal a warm earthy flavor while the beans add richness making it ideal for gloomy weather.

What you will need:

Onions, chopped

Garlic cloves, finely chopped

Tomatoes, chopped

Yams, halved

Sweet potatoes, halved

Irish potatoes, halved

Beans, boiled

Green onion(as garnish), finely chopped

Cooking oil

Chilli oil, a few drops

Curry powder

Salt

Method

On high fire, Add cooking oil to the a sauce pan and let it get hot. Add the garlic and onions and wait for them to become translucent. Add the tomatoes, chilli oil, curry powder and salt and stir. Add the Irish potatoes first, then the yams and then the sweet potatoes. Top with the beans and cover pan for about 10 minutes. Add half a glass of water and stir so that the beans are evenly distributed. Let the Katogo cook till the Irish potatoes are soft and tender. Remove from fire and serve warm.

To make a soupy katogo, add more water. I did not put any specific measurements to the ingredients because when making katogo, we don’t measure. Instincts are used depending on how many people are to be cooked for. Clearly I was cooking for a full house and thus the large tray.

I hope you enjoy making and eating this katogo because it is comfort food and the weather allows so. Also, what are your favorite katogo ingredients?

Have a great week.

🙂

Sophie