National Dish Uganda: Matoke with Peanut Sauce (Recipe)
In this article
Matoke with peanut sauce is steamed green banana under a thick groundnut sauce, and it is what Uganda eats. The bananas are a starch crop, picked green and cooked as a vegetable. They are not dessert and they are not sweet.
About Matoke with Peanut Sauce
The proper method steams the peeled bananas wrapped in their own leaves, which turns them yellow and soft and gives a distinct flavour. The peanut sauce, binyebwa, is ground raw peanuts cooked with onion and tomato until thick.
Uganda grows more bananas per person than anywhere else on earth.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 4–6 green plantains (matoke)
- 1 cup peanuts, ground
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 1–2 cups vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Shopping for the ingredients
Green matoke bananas from an African or Caribbean grocer, not plantains if you can help it: matoke are a different cultivar and starchier. Raw peanuts ground to a paste, or unsweetened natural peanut butter with no palm oil.
Preparing the dish
Peel the bananas with a knife and oil your hands first, because the sap stains black and does not wash off easily. Cut them into chunks and hold them in water until you cook them.
Step-by-step instructions
- Oil your hands, peel the matoke with a knife and cut into chunks, keeping them in water.
- Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the chopped onions until translucent.
- Add the diced tomatoes and simmer a few minutes until they soften.
- Stir in the ground peanuts and mix well.
- Pour in the vegetable stock and let the sauce simmer until it thickens.
- Add the drained matoke and stir so they are coated in the sauce.
- Cover the pan and simmer for 20–30 minutes, until the bananas are soft.
- Season with salt and pepper, then serve.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
Bananas and peanuts contain no gluten and no dairy. The dish is naturally suitable for both restrictions.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
The dish is vegan as written and is eaten this way most days; meat is the occasional addition rather than the default. Binyebwa and Ugandan peanut sauce are the sauce on its own.
More tips and tricks
Oil your hands before peeling, since matoke sap turns fingers black for days. Cook the peanut sauce long enough that the raw taste goes and the oil separates slightly. And keep the peeled bananas in water so they do not discolour.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Smoked fish or beef in the sauce is the festive version. Katogo cooks matoke with offal or beans as a breakfast dish. Steaming in banana leaves is the traditional method and is worth doing once.
Ingredient substitutions
Green plantains for matoke. Natural peanut butter for ground peanuts. Sweet potato or cassava as the starch.
Drink pairing ideas
Ugandan banana wine, tonto, made from the same crop. Bushera, the fermented millet drink. Chai with the meal.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve the matoke mashed or in chunks with the sauce poured over, chapati alongside. In a Ugandan home the starch fills most of the plate and the sauce is a smaller portion.
A bit of history
The East African Highland banana is genetically distinct and has been cultivated around Lake Victoria for over a thousand years, with hundreds of named cultivars. Groundnuts came later from the Americas. Together they anchor Ugandan cuisine.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Matoke with Peanut Sauce
Matoke with peanut sauce is green banana cooked soft under a thick groundnut sauce. Oil your hands before peeling, cook the sauce until the raw taste goes, and serve it with chapati.
