Katogo

Katogo is a Ugandan stew of green bananas or plantain, simmered with beef or offal, tomato and onion.

Katogo is everyday home cooking in Uganda and is also sold in simple eateries. It uses the same green cooking banana as matoke, the steamed banana dish, but here the fruit is cut into pieces and cooked in a loose, savoury sauce. Peanuts are part of the classic recipe, adding body and a mild nutty flavour. Households vary in how much meat, peanut and liquid they use.

What it really is

Green bananas or plantain are peeled, cut into chunks and simmered with beef or offal, chopped onion, tomato and ground peanuts. As it cooks, the starch softens and thickens the liquid, so the sauce ends up thick and clinging rather than watery. It is seasoned with salt and is eaten as a full meal.

Katogo is savoury, not sweet. Unripe bananas and plantain have little sugar, and the stew is cooked with onion and tomato, not sweetened.

How it's served

• Hot, in a deep bowl or on a plate, with the sauce spooned over the pieces.
• As a main meal, often on its own.
• Eaten with a spoon, with the soft fruit mashed into the sauce as you go.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the protein: beef, or offal if that is what the kitchen uses. Guests who avoid offal will ask.
• Flag peanuts as a declarable allergen, since they are part of the standard recipe. State if the kitchen leaves them out.
• Name the fruit as plantain or green banana, and say whether the bowl is served on its own or with another starch.
• Give the portion size per bowl, because the stew is often ordered as a full meal.