Traditional Ugandan Meal

Henry’s wife, Alice, prepared a traditional Ugandan meal for Laura, Lauren, Gabriel, and me – and the many others who would join us. Peter moved from person to person with a basin and water jug, as there was no running water in Henry’s home. We washed our hands using the strong soap bar in preparation for dining with our natural fork (our fingers).

As an appetizer we enjoyed gee nuts (boiled peanuts). The peanuts here come in threes rather than twos. We were also served drinks, which Henry hand selected for each person given his very accurate observations of our preferences during previous meals together.

Goat was the main dish, cooked in the outdoor kitchen (not the kind of kitchen an American would visualize), and had been sautéed in some delicious but unrecognizable seasonings. My piece was very flavorful but stringy. Laura and Lauren said their pieces were quite tender. Matoke (green bananas, boiled, peeled, and somewhat mashed), white rice (a very common staple), and Irishes (potatoes) were plentiful. A goat-based stew (gravy) added flavor to the starches. Frenches (green beans) were served as was chapatti, a type of flat bread used to scoop the food.

Our plates were full of this entirely locally grown, organic, homemade meal. The food placed on the coffee table before us must have cost a month’s wages but was given without reservation. Ugandans eat in silence, which felt awkward to Laura. Surprisingly, I was quite content to simply enjoy the flavors of each dish that was served.

Dessert consisted of papaya, mango, pineapple, and watermelon…and then more pineapple. This part of the meal was true heaven.

More introductions following the meal and I asked if Henry or any of his friends had any prayer needs. For the first time since I met him, Henry was speechless. I wondered if, perhaps, I had violated some cultural or social standard. In the end, though, after we sang Amazing Grace together, his friend asked for prayer for his wife who would deliver what he hoped would be his first son and fourth child. Henry asked for prayer that he would continue to maintain focus on Jesus even when the winds tossed him to and fro, and that all the children would be protected from the temptations they face. Amen.