This project didn’t happen by accident. Many years ago, I was scouring the interwebs for ideas for new meals, when I came across a sweet potato-and-peanut dish from West Africa. It opened my eyes to some new ways of cooking, and it was delicious.

If you haven’t used peanuts in a curry-like format before, you’re missing out. They add a great flavor to sauces, and match well with traditional curry accoutrements, like tomatoes, onions and peppers. Thus I found myself with Matoke, a stew from Uganda traditionally served over mashed plantains.

Wait, mashed plantains?

Oh, oh yes, mashed plantains. Creamy, sweet, oh-so-yellow and oh-so-good.

Autumn is inching its way closer to being a part of my life, and I’m reacting in kind by trying to use as much of summer’s leftover bounty as possible. In this case, I had some fresh turmeric that I attempted to grow in my garden this year. Turmeric is a native to southeast India, a warm, moist place that doesn’t have a lot in common with Oregon’s growing seasons. So my turmeric didn’t turn out very big, but I did grind up the rhizomes I got for use in this dish – supplemented by some powder I had in the pantry.

This dish was outstanding. It originally called for goat, but I “chickened” out and went with poultry instead. Easily one of the Top 5 dishes of this project so far.

I based this recipe from several sources, including Far Flung Travels, Taste of Home, Whats4Eats and Caught Eating.

Matoke 🇺🇬

• 3 plantains, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
  
  

  Once the chicken is browned, stir all the ingredients together, then simmer.

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 Tb butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 30 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 ts turmeric, ground
• 1 ts cumin, ground
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ts cardamon, ground
• 3 short hot peppers
• 2 Tb oil
• 1 cup fresh peanut butter
• 1 cup water
• 1 vegetable bullion cube
• 1 lb chicken, cubed

1. 

   Add cream and butter to the potatoes, and MASH.

   Sprinkle the plantains with lemon juice and set aside for 5 minutes.
2. Put plantains in a large pot, with enough water to cover by 4-5 inches. Bring to a boil, then simmer until tender.
3. Drain, add milk and butter, and mash.
4. Heat the oil in a large pan. Fry onion, tomatoes, peppers and garlic together, and add spices. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add meat and brown.
6. Add vegetable broth and peanut butter, boil then reduce to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.