Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Don't Say Banana - Say Matoke

Uganda is probably the banana basket of east Africa. There are so many types of banana, that there is not one general name for banana in the local language. Here is an introduction to some types of banana from Uganda.

The king of bananas in Uganda is definitely matoke. The term matoke is a generic name for a family of banana that are similar in characteristics. The matoke banana is a small, green banana which grows tightly on large bunches. It is a cooking banana. Ripe matoke bananas are also edible - as a last resort, instead of throwing them away.

The matoke banana tastes best peeled and steamed in banana leaves. It then develops a rich yellow colour. Matoke also tastes good roasted, as a snack.

Its soft, neutral taste is ideal as an accompaniment to fish, meat, groundnut, vegetable and pulse sauces.

Although the matoke has a reputation of not being particularly nutritious, it is very much beloved. It is often preferred to maize meal bread (posho), millet meal bread (kalo), rice, or boiled cassava, sweet potato, yam or arrow root. However, since matoke is expensive, it is often served with one or more of the above.

The price of matoke is one of the most reliable reflections of socio-economic realities. While 20% inflation may sound abstract to many,the same information, stated as the increase in the price of a bunch of matoke from two thousand shillings to twenty thousand shillings, lends immediate relevance and understanding of the state of affairs.

The other popular banana is the bogoya. The bogoya is a long, curved, rather elegant, yellow banana. The bogoya is a fruit banana, eaten yellow and sweet as a snack.

Menvu is the name of a short (finger-length) banana, very yellow and very sweet. And then there isomwenge, which is only fit for brewing banana beer.

As well as lots of red and yellow bananas, which cannot be eaten raw or ripe, but must be roasted or boiled in the peel.

Bananas such as bogoya and menvu are often sold at markets or roadside stands. Matoke is serious business, and has whole sections dedicated to it in many markets. Many roadside eating places also roast bananas alongside sweet potato and cassava as take-away snacks for hungry travellers.

If you are ever walking along such a stand in Uganda, or at a market, you cannot just say banana. You have to say matoke. Or bogoya. Or menvu.

Or a host of other delicious lovely fruit.

Matoke gets an emotional mention in Lamaro Schoenleber's new full-length memoirs; Sauerkraut in Odii - add love to taste, available at amazon.com. https://www.amazon.com/author/lamarolaker

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