Rwanda

🇷🇼Rwanda

Rukacarara

A Rwandan beef preparation cooked with onion, tomato and local aromatics.

🇷🇼Rwanda

Rwandan Grilled Tilapia

Whole tilapia from Lake Kivu, grilled over charcoal with onions, garlic, and spices; a centrepiece dish for 2-3 people, eaten with fingers; the smoky flavour from open-fire grilling defines the Rwandan version.

🇷🇼Rwanda

Sambaza

Tiny silver lake fish from Lake Kivu, deep-fried whole until crisp; eaten as a snack with pili pili or mayonnaise, or cooked into a curry with rice; caught using traditional methods by local fishers.

🇩🇯Djibouti

Sambusa

ሳምቡሳ

Crispy triangular fried pastries stuffed with spiced lentils, beans or beef. The Ethiopian-Eritrean cousin of the Indian samosa, beloved at fasting tables, breakfast spreads and Ramadan iftars.

🇬🇵Guadeloupe

Samosa

समोसा

A crisp South Asian pastry is folded around spiced potato, peas, onion, or meat, then fried and served with chutney

🇧🇮Burundi

Steamed Plantains

Ibitoke

Green plantains (ibitoke) boiled or steamed until soft, eaten as a starchy side with stews and beans; the Kinyarwanda word for plantain, ibitoke is the staple carbohydrate of the Rwandan table alongside cassava and sweet potato.

🇰🇪Kenya

Sukuma Wiki

Kenya's daily green: sautéed collard greens with onions and tomatoes, the most common ugali companion

🇷🇼Rwanda

Sweet Potato Pudding

Sweet pudding made from mashed sweet potatoes, sugar, and spices, baked until set; a Rwandan dessert using the country's staple root crop; soft, sweet, and orange-hued from the sweet potato.

🇰🇪Kenya

Tomato Onion Salad

Kachumbari

A Kenyan fresh tomato and onion salsa with chili and lime, the essential nyama choma companion

🇧🇮Burundi

Ubugari

Cassava flour cooked into a stiff dough with water, the Rwandan version of ugali made primarily from cassava rather than maize; eaten with beans, isombe, or meat stews; the carbohydrate base of the Rwandan meal.

🇷🇼Rwanda

Ubuki

Traditional Rwandan beer brewed from fermented honey; a lesser-known traditional brew mentioned alongside urwagwa and ikigage; the honey is diluted with water and fermented, producing a sweet, mildly alcoholic mead-like drink.

🇲🇼Malawi

Ugali

Posho

Kenya's staple food: dense maize flour porridge cooked in boiling water, served with meats, vegetables, or stews

🇷🇼Rwanda

Umugati

Bread made from cassava flour, baked or steamed; a traditional Rwandan preparation using the country's most important root crop; cassava is processed to remove toxins, then ground and cooked into a dense bread.

🇷🇼Rwanda

Umutsima

Gluten-free cake made from cassava flour and corn flour, baked into a dense, slightly sweet dessert; served at weddings, events, and celebrations; a uniquely Rwandan confection using the country's staple crops.