This traditional Ugandan dish was a hit with my family in spite of it's unusual combination of strong flavours--I hope you like it too!
Luwombo Recipe
Makes 3 servings; adapted from http://www.sendacow.org.uk/lessonsfromafrica/assets/files/Ugandan-xmas-meal-Luwombo.pdf
Luwombo Recipe
Makes 3 servings; adapted from http://www.sendacow.org.uk/lessonsfromafrica/assets/files/Ugandan-xmas-meal-Luwombo.pdf
Ingredients
2-3 chicken breasts (can also use beef or pork), chopped into bite-sized pieces
100-200g peanut butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 chicken stock cube
2 large mushrooms (or half a dozen button mushrooms), chopped
1-2 smoked fish fillets, pulled apart into bite-sized pieces
4-6 plantains or small green bananas
salt and pepper to taste (go easy on the salt; there's a lot in the smoked fish and stock)
~9-12 large fresh grapevine leaves (or banana leaves if you can get them...although you can apparently use baking paper as well??)
100-200g peanut butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 chicken stock cube
2 large mushrooms (or half a dozen button mushrooms), chopped
1-2 smoked fish fillets, pulled apart into bite-sized pieces
4-6 plantains or small green bananas
salt and pepper to taste (go easy on the salt; there's a lot in the smoked fish and stock)
~9-12 large fresh grapevine leaves (or banana leaves if you can get them...although you can apparently use baking paper as well??)
Method
Brown the chicken/beef/pork in an oiled frying pan, then set aside.
Re-oil the pan and half the chopped onion. Cook for a minute or two before adding the chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, pepper (and salt), peanut butter and smoked fish. Add a little water to smooth the sauce if necessary.
Remove the stalks and plunge the grapevine leaves into hot water to soften them. Arrange 2-3 leaves (per parcel) on a flat surface so that the lobes overlap to cover any gaps.
Place a portion of meat, mushrooms and tomato-peanut-fish sauce mix into the center of the arranged leaves and wrap up so that the sauce doesn't leak out of any cracks. Secure each parcel with oven-proof string.
Arrange the parcels on a rack in a steamer (proper or improvised using a wire rack and a roasting dish) along with the plantains/bananas (I took the skins off but I wonder if trying it with the skins on would be worth while? Or adding them to the water rather than putting them on the rack??). Steam for an hour (I put a jug full of boiling water in the bottom of the roasting pan and put the covered pan into the oven for an hour at 110 degrees; not sure if this is about right or not but it seemed to work).
Once steamed, mash the bananas and serve a portion with each parcel.
Remove the stalks and plunge the grapevine leaves into hot water to soften them. Arrange 2-3 leaves (per parcel) on a flat surface so that the lobes overlap to cover any gaps.
Place a portion of meat, mushrooms and tomato-peanut-fish sauce mix into the center of the arranged leaves and wrap up so that the sauce doesn't leak out of any cracks. Secure each parcel with oven-proof string.
Arrange the parcels on a rack in a steamer (proper or improvised using a wire rack and a roasting dish) along with the plantains/bananas (I took the skins off but I wonder if trying it with the skins on would be worth while? Or adding them to the water rather than putting them on the rack??). Steam for an hour (I put a jug full of boiling water in the bottom of the roasting pan and put the covered pan into the oven for an hour at 110 degrees; not sure if this is about right or not but it seemed to work).
Once steamed, mash the bananas and serve a portion with each parcel.
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