Matoke recipe

Uganda's national staple of green highland cooking bananas steamed in a banana-leaf bundle for over an hour, then mashed inside the leaves into a soft yellow mass.

2 hours and 30 minutesmedium4 ingredients

Ingredients

• 2000 g green cooking bananas
• 8 banana leaves
• 1000 ml water
• 1 tsp vegetable oil

How to make Matoke

1. Rub a little oil on your hands and knife, then peel 2 kg green matooke bananas with the knife, taking off the thin skin and dropping the fruit into cold water so it does not darken.
2. Pass 8 banana leaves over a flame or dip them in boiling water so they soften; remove the hard central ribs and keep them.
3. Lay the leaves in overlapping layers in a wide bowl, pile the drained bananas in the centre and fold the leaves up into a closed bundle; tie it with banana fibre or string.
4. Put the leaf ribs or a rack in the bottom of a large pot, pour in about 1 L water to just below them, set the bundle on top and cover with the lid.
5. Steam on medium-low heat for 1 h 30 to 2 h, adding hot water whenever the pot gets low; the bananas turn from white to yellow and give under a finger.
6. Without opening it, press and knead the bundle through a cloth until the bananas inside are mashed smooth, then return it to the pot over low heat to keep it hot until serving.
7. Open the bundle at the table and serve the matooke with groundnut sauce, luwombo or a meat stew.

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