To Market, To Market, To Buy Some Fried Food

Although I’m not crazy about Ugandan gastronomy in general, I have found great delight in my trips to the market to sample local street fare.  I mean, if you fry it, almost anything will taste good.... right?  Every few days my two-year-old daughter will start repeating “Market, Market, Chapatti, Samosa.”   It is then that I know that her saturated fat levels are dangerously low.       

Samosas are one of my kids’ favorite market snacks.  At local restaurants they serve veggie or beef samosas.  At the market I have only encountered samosas filled with cow peas, which is some kind of bean.  They’re all right, but not great.  I enjoy the crispy outer dough more than the filling.  Lately I have been passing on samosas, opting instead for a couple fried sticks of cassava.  It’s kind of like a giant french fry, but a little more dried out.  It’s enjoyable with a little bit of salt on it.   Salty, fried, starch… I can get down with that.

Chowing down on Cow Pea Samosas

Another common food at the market, or along the side of the road, is roasted corn.  Women roast the corn on little fire pits made out of old wheel wells.  The corn here is not sweet corn like back in the old U.S. of A, so the first bite is pretty disappointing.  It’s more coarse and starchy, but once you adjust your expectations it can be pretty delightful.   

Hanging out with one of our favorite fruit vendors

The rolex (not the watch) is the quintessential Ugandan street food.  It’s egg mixed with shredded cabbage, fried on a cast iron griddle over coals, and then rolled up with in freshly made chapatti bread along with a little bit of sliced tomato.  Think doughy breakfast burrito.  It’s great for a big snack or a cheap meal.  They’re pretty greasy, but you’re getting protein and veggies, they're filling, and they cost less than a dollar.  They are decent as is, but I feel they need a little help to really make them good.  Last week I added some sirachia, which took it up a few notches.  

Roll it Up! Roll it Up!

Although you can get it in town, one of my favorite parts of our trips out of Kampala has been the muchomo breaks.  Along the road there are stops where vendors have a bounty of grilled meat on sticks waiting for cars and buses to stop.  It can be a little overwhelming as they rush the car waiving around skewers of charred flesh, but that’s part of the adventure.  On our way up to Gula we sampled some goat that was quite tasty, but my stomach was not happy that I decided to eat 4 sticks worth. 

A couple weeks ago we went for a hike in the Mabira Rainforest.  Near the end of our hike we crossed a main road at a chicken muchomo stop.  A quarter chicken seasoned and roasted on a stick, paired with roasted sweet bananas, tasted fantastic and was an awesome way to round out the hike.  The vendors were also helpful in showing us where the trail stated again on the other side, so double score. 

          

GOAT!

       If stateside, and getting tired of snacking on Doritos, consider coming for a visit to Kampala.  I’ll buy you a Rolex and we can wash it down with a Nile Special Premium Lager. 

Yes, we have pizza as well