Traditional food in Rwanda will immediately give you an idea about its vegetarian fare. If you have been to other African countries to explore their cuisine, you’ll recognize their reliance on the crops that grow best in the area. What makes Rwanda different, is that they rely less on cassava and more on bananas or plantain. Anyone interested in plant-based fare with no idea about what Rwandan food is all about, the list below features suggestions on which dishes should you try first. This list includes ingredients unique to Rwanda, plus other types of vegetables that will remind you of vegetable-based meals with a Rwandan twist. Here is a list of the top traditional foods in Rwanda that you should try, whenever you get the chance!
1. Umutsima - Mixed cassava and corn
Made of cassava and corn, “umutsima” is the mixture locals use to create wedding cakes, but any event or occasion can be an excuse to bake a cake out of umutsima. It is one of the best discoveries for gluten-free enthusiasts traveling to Rwanda since they need their bread to be grain-free. Various versions of these cakes exist, but umutsima is their common denominator. You will feel honored to share this kind of cake with fellow Rwandans.
2. Isombe - Pounded cassava leaves
While most African dishes contain the cassava tubers, Rwandans also cook the leaves for their daily fix of fiber. One of the more known dishes in Rwanda, these cassava leaves are pounded to a pulp, cooked and mixed with other vegetables. The veggies usually added include sliced eggplant, green bell peppers, spinach and chopped onions. For a thicker paste, peanut butter and palm oil are thrown in for good measure. Versions vary from region to region and it’s the best dish to offer vegans that would like to try out Rwandan cuisine.
3. Mizuzu - Fried plantain
Too thick to be called “banana chips”, “mizuzu” is occasionally served in fusion restaurants as a dessert. Sliced crosswise, mizuzu is fried until golden brown, set aside and drizzled or glazed with organic honey before serving to guests. In Rwanda, some restaurants serve a platter of mizuzu with a scoop of ice cream in the middle. Some versions of mizuzu have the plantains sliced lengthwise, making quartered and fried plantains. Either version is served either as a light snack or as dessert after a hearty meal.
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4. Ubuki - Banana honey
Yes- banana honey. Rwandan bananas are a source of honey for locals and a natural sweetener for their beverages. Better known locally as “ubuki”, this name is sometimes stamped on local bottled drinks to distinguish them from imported drinks made sweet by conventional sugar, corn syrup or some other sweetening additive. These drinks, marketed to Rwandans, may remind you of energy drinks that come in translucent bottles and sold in convenience stores. Some restaurants offer ubuki-sweetened drinks with their Rwandan dishes, as well to complete the meal.
5. Matoke - Green banana
This starchy kind of banana grows in the African Great Lakes region in which Rwanda is found. In effect, food served under the name “matoke” can mean anything that has matoke in it. When asked which dishes suit this banana best, locals will tell you that it’s often quartered and added to food as an alternative to potatoes when cooking meat-based stews. Vegans and enthusiasts of plant-based cuisine have recently discovered this ingredient as a way to add exotic flavor to their meals.
6. Agatogo - Plantain stew
Not liquidy enough to classify as a soup, Rwandans often pitch this dish to tourists who want to try some local, traditional fare for the first time. A plantain stew, it’s one of the few dishes that contains sauteed onions cooked first ahead of sliced garlic, a trick some cooks do when they want to make the main ingredient’s taste prevail, instead of garlic, without losing the taste of either onion or garlic. Tomato paste is then poured in to make a saucy base, followed by chunks of goat meat and some water. The dish is then topped off with sliced plantain, some green leafy vegetables and a handful of green peas. This dish is best enjoyed at lunchtime to replenish lost energy or at dinner, before calling it a day.
7. Ibirayi - Potatoes
Literally translated as “potato”, ibirayi is the Rwandan version of “mojos” or home fries. Most of the time, baby potatoes are used - sliced halfway with the skin on, boiled with spices and then fried on a skillet, using local butter. Some versions serve ibirayi with barbecued meat on a stick. Whenever bigger potatoes are used, the potatoes are quartered for better absorption of the spices, while they cook in the boiling water. In effect, these sliced potatoes are cooked twice - first by boiling and next by frying.
8. Ibihaza - Pumpkin
Locals call this vegetable “ibihaza”, but this is also the same word used to refer to any dish that has this pumpkin as the dominant ingredient. Some tourists dining at Rwandan restaurants will be suggested to try a dish that includes ibihaza, a dish that also can satisfy the vegan crowd. Vegetarians and other enthusiasts of plant-based diets who would like to learn some new meals to cook at home should go to the fresh produce market closest to the last place they ate ibihaza and buy some of these vegetables themselves to give it a try.
9. Urwagwa - Banana beer
Rwanda’s version of banana beer is often presented as the highlight of their Banana Beer Festival. An alcoholic drink made of bananas or plantain, the fruit is sliced and crushed before getting fermented with sorghum flour. The Rwandan version is known for using roasted sorghum flour as the recipe’s yeast. Based on the ingredients, locals have learned how to pitch this traditional drink as a liquor for the health-conscious who want to recover from the withdrawal symptoms associated with quitting beer. This has made urwagwa the best, guilt-free liquor to ever come out of this side of Africa.
10. Brochettes - Rwanda-style barbecue
The ultimate bar chow, brochettes occasionally get compared with Turkey’s kebabs, simply because both meat and veggies are skewered before cooking them atop a charcoal-fired grill. Marinated using spices local to Rwanda and cooked to perfection, most bars serve a platter of brochettes topped with onion rings and quartered, fried mizuzu. There are versions of Rwandan brochettes that just have meat and there are usually two options - beef or goat meat. The spices on the smoking hot meat are tempered by the sweetness of the mizuzu honey-glazing. Those who want it spicier can eat the included sliced onions, too, either as a topping or as a side dish.
Plantain-based dishes and then some
Best enjoyed on your first visit to Rwanda, these dishes will help quash any concerns related to your eating habits. On vacation in Rwanda, you could end up in a place with less fried food and saucier, soupy stews with chunks of bananas or plantains, dispelling any misconceptions you might have that healthy food lacks good flavor. So, sit back and let this list serve as a primary reference for which dishes to try on your first trip to Kigali, the country’s capital.