Ugandan cuisine

Ugandan cuisine consists of traditional and modern cooking styles, practices, foods and dishes in Uganda, with English, Arab, and Asian influences.
Many dishes include various vegetables, potatoes, yams, bananas and other tropical fruits.
Chicken, pork, fish, beef and goat are all commonly eaten, although among the rural poor, meats are consumed less than in other areas, and mostly eaten in the form of bushmeat. Nyama is the Luganda language word for "meat".

Main dishes

Main dishes are usually centred on a sauce or stew of simsim, groundnuts, beans or meat. The starch traditionally comes from posho or matooke in the central or kalo in the north, east and west. Posho or millet is cooked as a porridge for breakfast.
For main meals, white maize flour is added to the saucepan and stirred into the posho until the consistency is firm. It is then turned out onto a serving plate and cut into individual slices. Cassava, yam, and African sweet potato are also eaten; the more affluent include white potato and rice in their diets. Soybeans were promoted as a healthy food staple in the 1970s and this is also occasionally eaten for breakfast, although mostly used as feed for animals. Chapati, similar to Asian flatbreads, are also part of Ugandan cuisine.

Fruits and vegetables

Various leafy greens are grown in Uganda. These may be boiled in the stews, or served as side dishes in fancier homes. Amaranth, nakati, and borr are examples of regional greens. Fruits such as mangoes, bananas and pineapples are plentiful and commonly consumed, whether cooked in foods or eaten alone as snacks or as a dessert.

Traditional food names

Some traditional and historic Ugandan foods include:

or called ugali in Kenya, it is usually made from maize but also other starches; regional names include kwon. Ugandan expatriates make posho from cornmeal, masa harina or grits. Kwon is a type of ugali made from millet, but in other regions like eastern Uganda they include cassava flour.
Groundnuts —groundnuts are a vital staple and groundnut sauce is extremely common in Ugandan cuisine. Groundnuts are eaten plain or mixed with smoked fish, smoked meat or mushrooms, and can also be mixed with greens such as borr.Sim-sim —a staple particularly in the north, roasted sesame paste is mixed into a stew of beans or greens and served as a side dish, though sesame paste may also be served as a condiment; a candy is made from roasted sesame seeds with sugar or honey.
Matooke— boiled or steamed cooked in or served with a sauce of peanuts, beans, fresh fish or meatLuwombo—a traditional dish from Buganda, in which a stew of chicken, beef, mushrooms or fish is steamed in banana leavesMalewa—a traditional dish from eastern Uganda, made from bamboo shootsKikomando—a chapati that is cut into pieces and served with fried beans

Snacks

Roasted groundnut —served in a spill of paperSamusa —Indian samosas are highly assimilated into the local cuisine, as are chapati and curryMugaati n'amaggi —Originally an Arab dish, it consists of wheat dough spread into a thin pancake, filled with minced meat and raw egg, and then folded into a neat parcel, which is fried on a skillet or hotplate.Nsenene—a seasonal delicacy of a type of locustNswaa—served similarly to nsenene, but made of white antsRolex—a chapati filled with eggs, onions, cabbage or kale, and tomatoes; minced meat is sometimes added

Desserts

Fresh fruits—a common dessertSimsim—made with sugar and sesame seedsMandazi—doughnut, usually spiced with cardamonKabalagala—banana pancakes, usually made from very ripe ''ndizi''

Beverages

Tea and coffee are popular beverages and important cash crops. These can be served English-style or spiced. Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Fanta have all made inroads in the Ugandan market and soft drinks have become very popular. Both traditional and Western beers are probably the most widely available alcoholic beverages across Uganda.
Pombe and lubisi are generic words for locally made fermented beer, usually from banana or millet. Fermented banana wine is also prepared and consumed. Tonto is a traditional fermented drink made from bananas. Obushera beverages are types of traditional drinks made from fermented cereals.
Waragi is the generic term for distilled spirits and these also vary, see for example Uganda Waragi, a brand name for clear or yellow gin.