Kampala Kitchen 

This guide to cooking with local greens takes the guess work out of textures, preparation, and cook times so you can incorporate more of these super foods into your meals. Cooking with greens can be a bit intimidating in any locale because there are so many varieties and they can vary considerably in their texture, cook times, and flavors. This guide provides information about three fairly common greens in Uganda: spinach, sukuma wiki, and doodo. Each section provides an intr

This beautiful dish features freshly caught tilapia from Lake Victoria as well as local greens and vegetables. This corrupted chorizo paella is perhaps my only original recipe. I am always in search of good tilapia recipes because we have a fish monger who delivers fresh tilapia from Lake Victoria to our house each week. Paella is a beautiful dish and as a rice farmer’s daughter, I can’t resist a good rice dish. Adding Mexican chorizo to the paella takes the flavor to another

This mild cashew gravy comes together easily for delightful homemade Indian food. This recipe can compete with the korma at the best Indian restaurants. This recipe comes from my friend, Jen Propst. She got the recipe from her mother-in-law, who lived in Kenya for decades. Jen made this for me (dairy-free) when I was a new mom and I raved about it until she shared the recipe. Many recipes for homemade Indian food are disappointing compared to the complexity and balance of fla

This seasoning mix is combined with minced pork and cooked in a skillet to make crumbly Mexican chorizo. It is a tasty addition to quiche, lentils, or paella and it is perfect for breakfast burritos. When you are feeling lazy or uninspired, let Mexican chorizo spice up your dishes. Mexican chorizo and Spanish chorizo are worlds apart and your nationality may be identifiable based on which type of chorizo you think is “normal”. In California and the rest of the U.S., Mexican c

For those who live upcountry and don’t have regular access to ginger, this is a great way to preserve and store ginger. The rest of us can use this method to speed up meal prep by making ginger ready to use. We use ginger all the time in curries, peanut satay, smoothies, African tea, and fried rice. I got tired of peeling ginger each time I wanted to use it so I looked for an alternative. The best option appeared to be storing the ginger in alcohol and I have had great result

Sweet, nutrient-rich pumpkin butter is the perfect spread for autumn. Try it on biscuits or scones, or stir into yogurt or oats with a bit of maple syrup. Some people love pumpkin spice everything. I’m not part of that crowd, but I do like pumpkin and it can be a good way to get into the spirit of fall when you live on the equator. This recipe does require cooking a pumpkin, but it is easy so do not be intimidated. Check out our How to Cook Pumpkin tutorial for tips. For this

Cooking a pumpkin is so easy and in Kampala they are available year round. Don't forget to look for a green gourd, I've never seen an orange pumpkin here. When your recipes call for cooked pumpkin, do it yourself in just a few simple steps. Before I cooked my first pumpkin here, I messaged a friend who told me how to do it in 200 characters, it is that straightforward. These instructions are to cook a pumpkin to remove its soft flesh, not to steam pieces of pumpkin with the s

Groundnut (or peanut) sauce is a Ugandan standard. This version is made with groundnut paste and comes together in 20 minutes. Groundnut sauce, enva ebinyebwa, is a fast weekday dinner or lunch option. Our old house helper, Miriam, taught me how to make this Ugandan comfort food the way she learned to make it when she worked for a caterer. Groundnut sauce can be made from groundnut powder, which comes from pounding peanuts when they are raw, or groundnut paste, which is made

Italian sausage adds flavor to dishes like soups, quiche, spaghetti, and lasagna. Italian sausage seasoning is one of the first recipes I sought when we moved to Uganda. It probably has no basis in Italian cooking, but Americans like “Italian sausage” on pizza, in quiche, in chili and other stews, and in pasta dishes like spaghetti and lasagna. This recipes makes enough seasoning to transform 20 pounds of ground pork into delicious Italian sausage. This recipe makes enough se

This simple recipe will have you making tasty, creamy hummus at home. It is definitely worth the effort, especially when ready-made hummus is not available. We should all be making our own homemade hummus. That’s something I would never say in the States, but here in Uganda not all of us have access to ready-made hummus. Luckily, homemade hummus is easy to make and the ingredients are readily available in many Kampala supermarkets. We eat it by the spoonful at my house and my

Impress yourself by making this delicious no-knead artisanal bread. It only takes a few minutes to prep, and storing the dough in the refrigerator makes it easy to handle. My family calls this recipe “Tyler Bread” after my brother-in-law who introduced us to it. We were at our cabin in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California and Tyler effortlessly made this amazing bread. I thought he had superhuman powers. Then I made the bread myself and realized pretty much anyone can ma