Ugandan eggplant stew is a common stew served for meals at daily tables and meal settings of various families. Eggplant stew can be plain with only eggplants or cooked with a mixture of other vegetables and meats. On common mixture is eggplants and mukene served with posh. We get to learn how to make the Ugandan eggplant stew in today’s write up.
Recipe 1
How to make plain Ugandan Egg Plant Stew
Plain Ugandan eggplant stew is characterized by cooking only eggplants and seasoning to make the stew. The eggplants are cooked with little or no water to form a thick sauce that is served with white rice, posho, matooke and any other food.
Ingredients for making plain Ugandan Egg Plant Stew
4 big eggplants
2 big tomatoes
2 onions
Curry powder
25ml vegetable cooking oil
Step by step Method of making plain Ugandan EggPlant Stew
Step 1: Wash the Eggplants clean under running water and dice them into big pieces.
Step 2: Dice the tomatoes and onions finely and set them aside.
Step 3:using a deep based saucepan, fry the onions in hot oil and, add the tomatoes when the onions are soft.
Step 4:Cook the tomatoes over low heat until they are soft and ready, then add the salt to taste and your favourite curry powder. (my favourite curry is NsimbaMbiri)
Step 5: Next add the eggplants and stir them inconsistently for about one minute. When they dry up, add about 25ml of water. If you choose not to add in any water, reduce heat, cover the saucepan, and then leave the eggplants to cook for about five minutes.
Recipe 2
How to cook Egg Plants mixed with Meat stew?
Meat stew can be cooked together with eggplants. Eggplants are nutritive and make the meat soup thick and delicious.
Ingredients for eggplant and meat stew mixture
1 kg beef
2 large eggplants
1 beef stock cube
3 tbsps of vegetable cooking oil
3 large onions
2 small cloves of garlic (Crushed)
5 large tomatoes (Finely Chopped)
1 tbsp of Ryoco
1 tsp of black pepper (freshly ground)
1 tsp of salt to taste
2 ltrs of water for boiling the meat
Making the eggplant and meat stew mixture step by step
Cut and dice the beef into sizeable cubes. Season them with salt, black pepper and Ryoco.
you then heat up 1 tbsp oil in a thick-bottomed frying pan and sauté the beef in the oil for a few minutes until well browned. Do this in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Add another tablespoonful of oil if necessary.
Heat the remaining oil in a deep bottomed saucepan and fry the onion and garlic until golden. Add the tomatoes, and the beef stock cube and cook these on low heat for about 3 minutes until the tomatoes are cooked and soft.
Add the pieces of beef and stir-fry them in the tomato sauce for a few minutes. Add in half the water and bring it to boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pan and let it simmer for about an hour. Gradually add in the rest of the water and continue simmering until the meat is done. Adjust the seasoning to your perfect taste.
Finally, add the diced eggplants into the meat and let them simmer together until the eggplants are done. Serve hot with steamed matooke, rice or mashed potatoes and chapatti and a fresh salad.
11 Types of Eggplants to you need to know about
There are a variety of eggplant varieties on the local farmers market. You should be lucky enough to be able to taste more than one variety of the existing eggplants. Here are 11 of the most common types of eggplants, and how to cook them.
1. Chinese Eggplant
The Chinese eggplant is similar to the Japanese eggplant but has a long, narrow body with a light to the mid-toned purple exterior and white flesh. It has few seeds and it is less bitter in taste. Its relatively uniform, the slender shape makes it perfect for slicing into rounds and sautéing.
2. Fairy Tale Eggplant
These eggplants have a stunning purple and white striped exterior; fairy tale eggplants have sweet and tender flesh making them delicious to eat. They have palm-sized and cook very quickly and easily. They can be cooked perfectly by grilling.
3. American Eggplant
American eggplants just like the name suggests are commonly found and grown in America. They have a short, squatty shape and a deep purple colour.
Its purpose is eggplant in the kitchen, thanks to its very meaty texture that makes it a great protein substitute
4. Graffiti/Zebra/Sicilian Eggplant
The graffiti eggplant is also sometimes called the zebra or Sicilian eggplant. Its colour is similar to that of the fairy tale eggplants, with its mottled purple and white striping. Graffitis are great for eating whole or pureeing due to their thin skin and seeds.
5. Indian Eggplant
These eggplants are also called baby eggplants; these are adorable and resemble grapes or cherries. They have a dark, reddish-purple colour and are round in shape. They are commonly added to stews in Indian dishes.
6. Italian Eggplant
The Italian eggplant is similar to the American eggplant in colour and shape, but it is slightly smaller and sweeter. Its flesh is more tender and meatier than the American eggplant. It is commonly used in Italian dishes but it can be well utilized for a number of multipurpose dishes.
7. Japanese Eggplant
Similar to the Chinese eggplant, the Japanese eggplant has a slender, and long shape, but with a much deeper purple colour as compared to the Chinese one. They cook quickly, making them excellent candidates for stir-fries.
8. Little Green Eggplant
The Light green eggplant is a plump shaped and pale green eggplant. Its flesh has an extra creamy texture when cooked. In terms of flavour, it’s very mild, so it can be used to make a plain stew or mixed up with anything you wish to cook it with.
9. Rosa Bianca Eggplant
This variety of eggplants has a very mild taste, and delicate flesh and they have no bitterness to them. Their small stature makes Rosa Bianca eggplants excellent for grilling.
10. Thai Eggplant
These look like tiny watermelons and have a green exterior (though it can also be white or pale yellow) with a pale to pink flesh. They have a very bitter taste due to the plethora of seeds found in their flesh. It’s therefore recommended that you remove all the seeds before cooking. These are cooked by stuffing or can be tossed into vegetable curries and stews.
11. White Eggplant
There are a few white eggplant varieties and they can be identified by their stark white skin. Their inside is identical to the standard eggplant. These eggplants can be cooked or added to anything just like the American and Italian Egg Plants.