SPICY UYOGA

One of the privilege of living in Tanzania, particularly in Southern and Southern Highlands is the availability of food from the wild. During the onset of the rainy season, mushrooms sprouts almost anywhere in the fields. Here  in Tanzania, you will find here one of the world's tastiest mushroom edible species, the Termitomyces species. 

Living in a volunteer’s meager allowance, still I am fortunate enough to prepare a dish considered luxurious and only available in world’s finest and expensive restaurant in my own kitchen. Privilege enough to have it in abundance, it is sold in the fresh market by the vendors fresh. Below I will share with you, a very simple dish of preparing a mushroom dish that will cost you only less than dollar and can be prepare in a very short period of time. Less than the hassle of waiting a food prepared by a celebrity chef’s in your fancy restos in Paris, New York or Tokyo! Living in a volunteer’s meager allowance, still I am fortunate enough to prepare a dish considered luxurious and only available in world’s finest and expensive restaurant.  

            In Swahili, mushroom is known as ugoga. Thus the recipe that I share with you today is call Spicy Uyoga.

Spicy Ugoya

INGREDIENTS

·         1 bowl wild edible mushroom (uyoga)

·         1 pc  small size hot pepper ( pili pili hoho)

·          1 pc  small ginger (tangawizi)

·         5 pcs garlic

·         1 2 long  inches stalk of leeks

·         1 cup amaranth (mchicha)

Readily available in the sokoni (fresh market)

Edible mushroom, they call it in swahili as uyoga.

Amarath, locally known as mchicha.

Cooking Procedure

1.    Heat the sauce pan and  pour a  the cooking oil.

2.     Sautée the garlic until brown, then add the ginger, until it will become golden brown also.

3.    Add the tomatoes until  the skin start to separate, remove the  skin.

4.    Then add the mushroom, stir and mix and then add quarter of cup of water and cover it until it boils. Add the salt to taste. Simmer it for 10 minutes and then add the amaranth and cover the pan for another five minutes.

     Serve it with steam white rice (wali) or the famous local food ugali,  enjoy your rainy dinner.