Matoke
Abuja, Nigeria · View all recipes
Overview
Matoke is green cooking banana, and it's also the name of the dish Ugandans make from it. To make this matoke recipe, you peel the green bananas, slice them into thin rounds and simmer them with tomato, green chilli, salt and pepper. Once they're tender, you finish with lemon juice and fresh coriander. These aren't the sweet bananas you peel and eat raw. Matoke, also spelled matooke, comes from East African Highland bananas picked green, while the flesh is firm and starchy. It cooks more like a potato and takes on whatever it's simmered with. It's grown and eaten across Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, and taking Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi together, people there eat somewhere between 250 and 400 kg of bananas a year each. In Uganda and Rwanda the classic way is to steam them, wrapped in banana leaves, for a couple of hours. Then they're mashed while still inside the leaves. That mashed matoke is considered a national dish in both countries, and it's served with a groundnut, vegetable or meat sauce. The version here is the stewed one, closer to a light vegetable stew. Oil your hands before you start peeling, because green banana skins leave a sticky sap that stains.
AFN Heritage Note
Matoke names both the green cooking banana and the dish made from it, and is considered a national dish of Uganda, where it is also called ebitookye. Green cooking bananas are a staple across Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda, and are harvested unripe and cooked rather than eaten raw.
Ingredients
Dietary tags are provided by contributors as a guide, not verified by AFN, and they depend on the products you buy. If you have a serious allergy, check every ingredient yourself. Cooking, allergies and your own judgement
Directions
- 1
Peel the green bananas- plantain and slice them in to 5mm thick round slices with a serrated knife from your knifes set. Soak them in cold water.
- 2
Chop the tomatoes into small pieces. Slit both the chillies and remove the membrane and seeds and cut into 4 pieces.
- 3
Heat oil in a pan when it is hot add 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds and let them splutter.
- 4
Drain the bananas and add to the pan followed by the tomatoes, salt and pepper and chillies Mix well and add the water.
- 5
Bring the stew to boil , than reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until bananas are tender and sauce has thickened. Add the lemon juice and stir. Transfer to serving dish and garnish with fresh coriander.
Africook’s Notes
- Oil your hands before peeling. Green banana sap is sticky and stains, and it comes off skin reluctantly.
- Soak the peeled slices in cold water until you cook them, or they discolour quickly.
- Do not overcook. Matoke should be tender but holding its shape in the stewed version, mushy is a different dish.
- Lemon juice at the end lifts it. Matoke is mild and benefits from something sharp.
- Green, unripe bananas only. A ripening banana will go sweet and collapse.
Questions cooks ask
What is matoke?
Matoke is a starchy green banana from the East African Highland group, and the dish cooked from it. It's picked unripe and always cooked, never eaten raw. In Uganda the word matooke is even used to mean food itself, and it's eaten steamed and mashed or stewed as in this recipe.
Is matoke the national dish of Uganda?
Yes, mashed matoke is widely regarded as a national dish of Uganda, and of Rwanda too. The classic version is steamed in banana leaves and mashed, then served with a groundnut, vegetable or meat sauce, often on a fresh banana leaf.
Can I use ordinary bananas or plantain instead?
Not ordinary sweet bananas, even green ones, because they turn soft and sugary instead of holding their shape. Green plantain is the closest swap if you can't find matoke, though the texture won't be exactly the same.
What is the difference between steamed and stewed matoke?
Both are matoke. Steamed matoke is wrapped in banana leaves, cooked for a couple of hours and mashed into a soft base for a sauce. Stewed matoke, like this recipe, is sliced and simmered with tomato and chilli, so it's closer to a vegetable stew.
What is matoke served with?
Mashed matoke is served with groundnut sauce, beans, or a meat or fish stew, and the sauce does most of the flavouring. This stewed version can be eaten on its own or alongside rice or beans.
Why do my hands stain when I peel matoke?
Green bananas give off a sticky sap that darkens in the air and clings to skin. Rubbing your hands with a little oil first stops most of it, and peeling under running water helps. Drop the slices straight into cold water so they don't discolour.
Reviews
Be the first to rate this recipe
Cooked it? Your rating helps the next person decide whether to try it.
No reviews on this one yet. If you have cooked it, yours would be the first.
