Ugandan Luwombo: Slow-Steamed Chicken in Groundnut Sauce with Garden Greens

Soften the banana leaves so they will fold without cracking: pass each one briefly over a low gas flame or dip in boiling water for 10 seconds until it turns glossy and pliable. Wipe dry.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 lb bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks
• 4 large banana leaves, plus extra strips for tying
• 3/4 cup smooth unsweetened peanut butter
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 ripe farmers-market tomatoes, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp fine salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
• 6 cups doodo or other tender greens (amaranth, chard or spinach), roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp neutral oil

Instructions

1. Soften the banana leaves so they will fold without cracking: pass each one briefly over a low gas flame or dip in boiling water for 10 seconds until it turns glossy and pliable. Wipe dry.
2. Season the chicken all over with the salt and black pepper and set aside while you build the sauce.
3. Warm the oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the onion for 6 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, ginger and curry powder and fry for 1 minute more.
4. Stir in the tomatoes and bell pepper and cook 8 minutes, pressing the tomatoes down, until they collapse into a thick base. Take off the heat.
5. In a bowl, whisk the peanut butter with the warm water a little at a time until you have a smooth, pourable sauce with no lumps. Stir it into the tomato base.
6. Lay a softened banana leaf in a shallow bowl to make a cup. Divide the chicken among the four leaves, spoon the groundnut sauce over each portion, then tuck a quarter of the chopped greens on top.
7. Gather the leaf edges up over the filling and tie each parcel closed with a strip of leaf or kitchen twine, leaving a little headroom for steam.
8. Set the parcels in a steamer basket over simmering water, cover, and steam for 1 hour 45 minutes, topping up the water as needed. The chicken should pull easily from the bone and the sauce should have thickened around it.
9. Rest the parcels 5 minutes, then open at the table so the perfumed steam escapes in front of your guests. Serve with rice, matoke or sweet potato.
10. Luwombo was created in the 1880s in the royal court of the Buganda Kingdom, reportedly by a palace chef named Kaweesa cooking for Kabaka Mwanga II, and it remains the dish Ugandans reserve for weddings, introductions and Christmas. The banana leaf is not decoration: sealed shut, it traps every drop of moisture and perfume so the groundnut sauce concentrates around the meat rather than reducing away. Late-season greens go in raw and steam down to velvet inside the parcel.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 710 kcal
• Protein: 48g
• Fat: 48g
• Carbohydrates: 21g
• Fiber: 6g
• Sugar: 9g
• Sodium: 820mg