One of the traditional foods in Buganda is chicken luwombo. It is loved by many and served at traditional marriage events most especially by the Baganda. The chicken stew is steamed while wrapped up inside a banana leaf. If you haven’t tried it, well this article will take you through the steps on how to prepare the delicious chicken luwombo.

Luwombo is a traditional way of cooking stews in Buganda, where one needs to have a banana leaf that is used to wrap up the chicken before steaming it.  A black-lined gold banana leaf which is not split neither having holes nor cuts is used.

The stew can be steamed over matooke, cassava, yams, pumpkin or potatoes. Modern-day luwombo can be cooked up inside a steamer after wrapping it up with a banana leaf and tied a string tied around the top ends of the leaf, like a neck tie, creating a pouch.

The chicken luwombo recipe

Firstly, a right banana leaf needs to be selected. However, now days, the luwombo banana leaves are normally sold in markets.

The next step if at all the banana leaf is not bought in the market, is to clean up the leaf with a dump and clean kitchen cloth. Let your banana leaf wilt under the sun for about 25 minutes.

Then carefully smoke the banana leaf and don’t let it dry out.  Remove the midrib carefully without tearing the leaf.

The next step is to heat the vegetable oil in a deep frying pan over moderate heat. Add the onions and fry until they start getting soft. Add the chopped carrots and green pepper, then stir until they start getting soft. Thereafter, add the blended tomatoes and keep stirring. Boil the mixture until the tomatoes are cooked and soft, then add black pepper and salt to taste. Add some little water to form a fairly thick soup. Remove this mixture from heat and let it rest.

Place the banana leaf for the luwombo into a soup plate or basket ensuring that the center of the leaf is in the middle of the bowl or basket. Place your chicken pieces in the center of the leaf. Then carefully pour the sauce mixture over the chicken and center it near the chicken.

Cover the top of the chicken with a small piece of banana leaf. Gather the sides of the luwombo banana leaf and tie them tightly together with a banana fiber ensuring that it is secure.  Neatly trim off the ends of the leaf above the knot with a sharp knife.

Place the neatly tied-up luwombo above the food to be steamed, and if it’s matooke, steam on fire for about 3 hours until the matooke and chicken luwombo is perfectly ready. Remove from heat and serve.

Place the luwombo into a basket or soup plate, and untie the leaf. Serve the food in addition to greens and groundnut paste. The luwombo can be enjoyed with steamed matooke, Kalo and rice, with fresh juice.