Muchomo

Ingredients

Meat

• 1 kggoat on the bone
• or beef, in 3 cm pieces
• some fat left on

The marinade

• 1onion, grated
• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 3cm ginger, grated
• juice of 2 lemons
• 3 tablespoonsoil
• 2 teaspoonscurry powder
• 1 teaspoonground black pepper
• 2 teaspoonssalt

To grill and serve

• skewers
• charcoal
• salt, to sprinkle
• hot chilli sauce
• raw onion and tomato

Alongside

• gonja
• roasted sweet plantain
• or chapati
• or cassava

Directions

1. Bone gives flavour to the meat around it. It also stops it drying out so fast. Salt does much of the work here. Cut the goat into even pieces. Aim for about three centimetres. Take some time over the cutting. Leave some soft fat on the pieces. Trim only hard sinew and gristle. Making the marinade is straightforward enough.
2. Grate the onion into a large bowl. Add the crushed garlic and grated ginger. Squeeze in all of the lemon juice. Add the oil, curry powder and pepper. Add the salt and stir it together. Combining it takes only a moment.
3. Put the meat pieces into the marinade. Turn them so they are all well coated. Cover the bowl and refrigerate it. Give it at least four full hours. Put wooden skewers in cold water. Let them soak for thirty minutes. Dry wood catches fire over charcoal.
4. Thread the pieces onto the skewers. Put four or five pieces on each one. But do not compress them hard. Wait until it is covered in grey ash. Never grill over flames at any point. Keep the skewers a little above the coals. Grilling them takes about fifteen minutes.
5. Lay all the skewers on the grill. Give them about four full minutes. Turn them all over with tongs. Give them another four full minutes. Brush them with the leftover marinade. Stop basting for the last few minutes. Turn them often to control that. Take them off while still juicy inside. Let the flames die before returning them. Cooking the gonja is done alongside.
6. Peel all of the sweet plantains. Lay them straight on the grill. Turn them over as they colour. Give them about fifteen minutes in total. Let the skewers sit for two minutes. Do not rest them long or they cool.
7. Sprinkle a little salt over them hot. That sticks to the hot surface. Serve hot gonja alongside them. Put hot chilli sauce out beside them. Add chopped raw onion and tomato. It must be eaten hot from the grill. Grill it again briefly to reheat.

Technique

• Muchomo comes from choma, a Bantu root meaning to grill, as does michopo in Zambia and nyama choma further east — a separate family in origin from the mishkaki skewers, which come from an Arabic root for skewering. They arrive at very similar food regardless, and the atlas records that distinction.
• The leftover marinade has held raw meat, so brush it on only early in the cooking and stop for the last few minutes so the heat cooks what you applied — or boil it first.
• Goat is leaner and firmer than beef and dries out very quickly on a grill, so use a moderate rather than fierce heat, leave some soft fat on the pieces, and take them off while still juicy inside.

Substitutions

• Beef stands in for goat, though goat has the stronger flavour and is preferred.
• Chapati or cassava replace the gonja alongside.

Variations

• Gonja is ripe sweet plantain roasted on the same coals; it must be yellow with black spots rather than green.
• Sellers crowd bus windows at scheduled stops, where a bus waits only a few minutes.
• Pieces are often left on the bone, which adds flavour, slows drying and is gnawed as part of eating.

History

Roadside skewers of goat or beef grilled over charcoal, sold at Ugandan bus stops and often eaten with gonja.

Frequently asked questions

What is Muchomo?

Muchomo is a street food from Uganda: charcoal-grilled meat skewers sold at roadside stands. Roadside skewers of goat or beef grilled over charcoal, sold at Ugandan bus stops and often eaten with gonja.

How long does Muchomo take to make?

Muchomo takes 25 minutes plus marinating of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Muchomo?

Yes, within limits. Beef stands in for goat, though goat has the stronger flavour and is preferred. Chapati or cassava replace the gonja alongside.

What is the most important thing to get right in Muchomo?

Thread the pieces onto the skewers. Put four or five pieces on each one. But do not compress them hard. Wait until it is covered in grey ash. Never grill over flames at any point. Keep the skewers a little above the coals. Grilling them takes about fifteen minutes.