One of the traditional cuisines of Uganda is chicken luwombo. Loved by many and served at traditional marriage events most especially by the Baganda. This chicken stew is steamed while wrapped up inside a banana leaf. Have you tried the traditional Ugandan chicken luwombo. In this write up we learn how to make perfect Ugandan chicken luwombo for ourselves.
WHAT IS LUWOMBO?
Luwombo is a traditional way of cooking stews in Uganda. Luwombo is characterised by a banana leaf that is used to wrap up the food before steaming it. A fairly young and unbroken banana leaf is used with no holes or cuts. The stews are steamed over matooke, cassava, yams, pumpkin or potatoes. Modern-day luwombo can be cooked up inside a steamer after wrapping it up with a banana leaf.
How to prepare the banana leaf for Luwombo
First, you need to secure the right banana leaf. Select a banana leaf that is fresh, and young, with no cuts or scratches. It should be smooth and young.
Second, clean up the leaf with a dump and clean the kitchen cloth. Let your banana leaf wilt under the sun for about 25 minutes.
Thirdly carefully smoke the banana leaf, don’t let it dry out. Remove the midrib carefully without tearing the leaf.
Ingredients for making perfect chicken Luwombo
¼ a kilogram of chicken roasted
2 medium-sized carrots, finely shredded
1 large green pepper chopped
2 medium-sized onions
1 teaspoon of vegetable cooking oil
1 teaspoon Black pepper
3 blended tomatoes
1 garlic clove
Salt to taste
½ cup of water
How to Make Perfect Ugandan Chicken Luwombo Step by Step
Preparing the ingredients
Heat the vegetable oil in a deep frying pan over moderate heat. Add the onions and fry until they start getting soft. Add your carrots and green peppers, and stir until they start getting soft. Then next add the blended tomatoes and keep stirring. Simmer the mixture until the tomatoes are cooked, then add black pepper and salt to taste. Add some little water to form a fairly thick soup. Remove this mixture from heat and let it rest.
Wrapping up the chicken
Place the banana leaf for the luwombo into a soup plate, ensuring that the centre of the leaf is in the middle of the bowl. Place your chicken pieces in the centre of the leaf. Pour the sauce mixture above over the chicken and centre it near the chicken. Cover the top of the chicken with a small piece of banana leaf. Gather the sides of the luwombo banana leaf and tie them tightly together with a banana fibre ensuring that it is secure. Neatly trim off the ends of the leaf above the knot with a sharp knife.
Steaming the Luwombo
Place the neatly tied-up luwombo above the food to be steamed. It could be matooke, if you don’t know how to steam matooke check out my steamed matooke recipe. Cover the matooke and the luwombo with banana leaves and steam on fire for about 3 hours until the matooke and chicken luwombo is perfectly ready. Remove from heat and serve.
Serving the chicken luwombo
Place the luwombo into a basket or soup plate, and untie the leaf. Serve the food in addition to greens and groundnut paste. You can enjoy the luwombo with steamed matooke, Kalo and rice, with fresh watermelon juice.