Matoke

Matoke is a dish originating from Uganda and a very popular dish among Kenyans. Though the original recipe from Uganda uses unripe bananas as the main ingredient, Kenyans have their own version with an addition of the readily available potatoes and sometimes with arrow roots. It is a quick fix for when you do not have a lot of time to cook.

Ingredients
• 8 medium size bananas (not quite ripe yet)
• 4 potatoes
• 2 pounds of beef, chopped
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, cubed
• small bunch of coriander, chopped
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• Vegetable oil 15

Preparation
• Prepare the ingredients by covering your hands with cooking oil, then peel the unripe bananas – The oil helps your hands from getting sticky from the bananas.
• Peel the potatoes and cut them into even wedges
• Put the beef in a cooking pot with a pinch of salt and add one cup of water, then place on heat and cover. Let it boil for 30 minutes till the meat is tender.
• Drain the broth that is remaining and put aside, preserve it for soup later. Add oil to the meat and heat for a few minutes as you stir to mix, then add the onion. Let the onions fry with the meat for 3 minutes then add tomatoes and carrots, stir to mix, then cover and simmer until the tomatoes have softened.
• Add the bananas and the potato wedges to beef and stir. Then add the preserved meat broth from the initial boil for soup, if not enough, add additional water as desired.
• Add coriander and curry powder. Cover then let it simmer for 15 minutes or until the bananas and potatoes are soft.
• Remove from heat and serve