Matooke with Tomatoes

When we were in Kampala, some wonderful Ugandan cooks, Betty and Jane, taught me some cooking skills.  We made smoked fish and matooke with tomato sauce the proper way (I tried making these things last time we were in Uganda, but they never tasted quite like when a Ugandan made them.

But now, I learned the secret ingredient for cooking matooke (and pretty much anything else in Uganda) - curry powder!  Now I understand why that is one of the important words in our Ateso book.

And so here it is, the correct way to make matooke with tomato sauce.
You need:
10 matooke bananas
4 small onions
6 tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
2-3 Tbs. olive oil
1-2 tsp. curry powder
1.5 tsp. salt

The first step is to peel the matooke.  This involves coating your hands with oil so the sticky sap from the matooke doesn't adhere to your skin forever.

Then, rinse off the matooke and set it aside.

Chop the onions, tomatoes, and finely mince the garlic.  Cook the onions in the olive oil until they are soft.

Then add tomatoes and curry powder.  Cook until the tomatoes are soft.

Once the tomatoes are soft, add the peeled matooke and some water to about an inch below the top of the matooke pile.  Cover and simmer until they are almost done (you will know they are almost done when they are almost soft when you poke a fork into them). 

Then, mix the salt with some water and add it to the simmering matooke.  Continue to cook until soft.

 

And there you have it, REAL Ugandan-style matooke.