Nash Mawani — food and pride that go together. | Photo by Ben Kiely.

Nash Mawani, owner of Jambo Grill is a very warm and welcoming host from Uganda. He talks about the food from back home with immense pride and passion.

I tried the matoke with peanut sauce which was unlike anything I have ever tasted before. Nash tells me this is a staple food back in Uganda. Matoke, which are essentially green bananas, are gently steamed with the leaves until they are soft and almost creamy-like in texture. Traditionally this dish is accompanied with a peanut sauce that is more like a rich peanut soup. Jambo Grill makes this dish to perfection and it is absolutely delicious.

Ingredients

• 4 matoke (plus banana leaves)

• 3 cups of roasted peanuts, finely ground, almost to powder form

• 2 cloves garlic, finely crushed

• 1 onion, chopped

• 2 tomatoes, chopped

• 2 tbsp vegetahble oil

Method

1. For the sauce place all the ingredients in a medium pot over a low heat and cover ingredients with cold water, cook for around 15 minutes stirring occasionally.

2. To steam the matoke, take a medium size pot and place the banana leaves on the bottom of the pot. Now peel the matoke and place on the banana leaves and now put another layer of the banana leaves on top to act as a lid. Now add about 2 cups of water and steam the Matoke until soft and tender. This should take about 20 minutes.