Food & Drink

Popular dishes and foods in Uganda include:

• Cassava
• Chicken and meat stews
• Freshwater fish
• Groundnut: peanuts are a vital staple and groundnut sauce is probably the most commonly eaten sauce.
• Matoke (made from bananas)
• Millet bread
• Mkate na mayai (bread and eggs) : originally an Arab dish, this is wheat dough spread into a thin pancake, filled with minced meat and raw egg, and then folded into a neat parcel and fried on a hotplate.
• Nsenene: an unusual seasonal delicacy of a type of grasshopper
• Nswaa: a delicacy made from white ant
• Samusa (samousa, samosa): Indian samosas have been assimilated into the local cuisine, as have chapati and curry
• Sim-sim: sesame - used particularly in the north, roasted sesame paste is mixed into a stew of beans or greens and served as a side dish, sesame paste may be served as a condiment; a candy is made from roasted sesame seeds with sugar or honey.
• Sweet potatoes
• Ugali: a type of porridge usually from maize but also other starches, regional names include posho and kwon. Ugandan expatriates make ugali from cornmeal, masa harina or grits.

Both traditional and western beers are probably the most widely available alcoholic beverage across Uganda. Pombe is the generic word for locally made fermented beer, usually from banana or millet. Banana gin (waragi) makes a good cocktail base.

Tea (chai) and coffee (kawa) are popular beverages and can be served English-style or spiced (chai masala).

More information on cuisine in Uganda can be found in the Ugandan Culture section.