The Many Faces of the Banana

Metoka is the Lugandan word for banana, one of the cultures staple foods. They eat them ripe much like we do in the west, but after that they get way more creative! Little vendurs at the side of the road sell them roasted and at the boys home we eat them cooked.

 

On the land that surrounds the boys homes are planted banana orchards. They boys each have the responsibility of keeping a few of the trees healthy. It seems in the village everyone at least has one metoka tree. Many of the brick homes are almost hidden under the leaves of the banana, jackfruit, and papaya trees. On the walk to church one of they boys was trying to teach me the difference between the types of banana trees. I am afraid they all look the same to me! But apparently the type of banana you eat ripe it a very different type than the one that you cook.

 



 

 

Yes, cooked metoka is a very common meal for me here in Uganda. It is not what you expect really, tasting more like a squash then a banana. This is how the process goes.  

 

 

 

You pick the bunch of bananas while they are still very green. You can not eat them raw as they are very hard and somehow bitter. Using a knife you peel them. Auntie Nesan , the cook at the boys home, and is very good at this.  She was kind enough to give me some lesson! I was definitely not as fast. And it proved to be sticky business.





The Ugandans are most resourceful! After being peeled the metoka is wrapped in banana leaves and steamed in water for something like two hours.  Even the stocks of the bananas has been used to create space at the bottom of the pot so that the banana leaves do not sit right on the bottom. Most the cooking in Uganda is done on charcoal fire stoves. This is how Auntie Nesan cooks as well.

 

This is the finished product, our Sunday lunch. Sunday lunch is special because we eat meat with the rest of the meal. The metoka is the yellow in the middle of the plate. It is served on rice with a nut sauce and some greens along with the meat. It is tastes great and I think I will miss it when I come home!