Malewa

Ingredients

Bamboo

• 500 gsmoked and fermented bamboo shoots, malewa
• water, for soaking and boiling

Groundnut sauce

• 300 graw groundnuts, or 250 g smooth groundnut paste
• 1onion, chopped
• 2tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tspsalt
• 500 mlwater

Optional

• 1 tspcurry powder
• 1green chilli

To serve

• posho or matoke
• greens

Directions

1. Soak the dried smoked shoots in plenty of cold water for several hours, or overnight, changing the water once.
2. Drain, cover with fresh water, and boil hard, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes. Boil it uncovered. Do not use it in the sauce.
3. Taste a piece. It should be tender and pleasantly sour and smoky, with no harsh bitterness left.
4. Cut the shoots into short lengths or shred them along the grain. If you are using raw groundnuts, roast them in a dry pan until fragrant, rub off the skins, and grind them to a paste.
5. Cook the onion and tomato in a pot with a little water until collapsed, then stir in the loosened groundnut paste.
6. Add the bamboo shoots, the salt, and the rest of the water. Simmer gently, uncovered, stirring often, for 45 minutes to an hour.
7. Stir it regularly. The sauce is ready when the oil begins to rise and separate at the surface. Season and serve with posho, stiff maize meal, or with steamed matoke.

Technique

• Malewa is sold dried and smoked in eastern Ugandan markets and keeps for months.
• The texture is chewy and slightly fibrous, and that is correct rather than a fault.
• Fresh bamboo shoots need the same boiling treatment, and more of it.

Substitutions

• Tinned bamboo shoots, which are already boiled, though they lack the smoke and the sourness.
• Smooth peanut butter with no added sugar, in place of ground groundnuts.

Variations

• Cooked with smoked meat or dried fish added.
• With simsim, sesame paste, in place of groundnut.
• Stewed plainly with onion and tomato and no nut sauce.

History

Bamboo shoots from Mount Elgon, fermented and smoked by the Bagisu, then stewed; central to the imbalu circumcision season.

Frequently asked questions

What is Malewa?

Malewa is a salad & side from Uganda: smoked bamboo shoots stewed in groundnut sauce, Bugisu specialty. Bamboo shoots from Mount Elgon, fermented and smoked by the Bagisu, then stewed; central to the imbalu circumcision season.

How long does Malewa take to make?

Malewa takes 30 min plus soaking of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Malewa?

Yes, within limits. Tinned bamboo shoots, which are already boiled, though they lack the smoke and the sourness. Smooth peanut butter with no added sugar, in place of ground groundnuts.

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

Drain, cover with fresh water, and boil hard, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes. Boil it uncovered. Do not use it in the sauce.