Culinary Road Trips in Uganda

Food is one of the things that stand out in our travel memories. As human beings, there are a lot of food in common around the world such as rice, pasta, corn among several other general food stuffs.

There are also several other dishes that you will only encounter in a particular location of a given country. That is what makes culinary road trips amazing. They are not just about food but connecting to the culture that goes along with that food.

Uganda is a diverse country that is still defined by tribes regardless of some forms of modernity. There are over fifty tribes in Uganda. Even though you may not get a chance to test food from every tribe, there are some that usually stand out for any Uganda safari culinary road trip.

Among the most popular dishes that make the Uganda culinary road trip exceptional are the following;

Luwombo

This is simply Uganda’s flagship cuisine. Though it is popularly known for meat and chicken. You can detect how it is prepared so that you have some sort of a mix of the culture. It is simply about steaming sources in banana leaves to ensure that they get that special aroma as well as non direct heat.

On top of the Luwombo, other food stuffs such as cassava, sweet potatoes among several others can also be steamed in banana leaves. The only difference between these and Luwombo is; Luwombo is mainly about sauces. You can get this special meal in one of the restaurants in Kampala or Entebbe.

Bamboo Shots

It is not only Ugandans that eat bamboo stocks. The only difference lies in how the Ugandans prepare them. You will have to drive all the way to Mbale town. They refer to the bamboo shots as Malewa.

You can get this meal in one of the hotels or top restaurants in Mbale on your way to Sipi falls. This is one of the major highlights of the East.

Still about Eastern Uganda, a stop in Jinja would introduce to sweet potatoes and ground nuts. This is the main dish in Jinja. However due to urbanization, it is becoming less and less popular.

Similar to Kampala, it is very possible to enjoy street food in all these towns. The most popular delicacies to expect during your street food exploration is roasted chicken or fried chicken, French flies, roasted green bananas, roasted plantain, liver, among several other things.

The rates vary according to the location. But street food is usually in a range of $1 and $2.

Traditional Animal Blood collecting

Among people who are religious, blood is sacred and cannot be eaten but for those who are not religious and wish to try out every meal Uganda has to offer, then you might have to try the Karamajong milk and blood delicacies.

The blood meal is likely to be one of your main highlights during your Uganda culinary road trip. From the process of collection, to the preparation and then eating. Even if you do not eat this blood, it is worth checking out the process on how they prepare they blood meal.

Eshabwe

Western Uganda will introduce to the land of milk. They also have special diary related meals that you ought to consider trying out.

In conclusion, the Uganda culinary road trip will take you through Kampala to explore the dishes of the Baganda, through Jinja to explore the dishes of the Basoga, into Mbale to explore the dishes of the Bagisu, into Karamoja area, then southwards into the Ankole area.

You can spice up your road trip with the following; source of the nile expedition, rafting on the nile, Sipi falls hike, Bulambuli waterfall hike, Karatunga community tours, Kidepo valley game drives, Murchison falls, Kibale, Queen Elizabeth, Bwindi and lastly Lake Mburo national park.