Easy Ugandan Curry Potatoes
Ugandan curry potatoes are one of those everyday dishes that say more about a country's cooking than the showpiece feast plates do. Curry powder reached Uganda via the Indian and Goan communities of the East African coast and the railway-building era, and was quickly absorbed into the local repertoire as a flavour for stews rather than as a separate cuisine. The result here is mild, fragrant and unmistakably Ugandan: small chunks of waxy potato cooked through in a sauce built on onions sweated until soft, fresh tomato simmered down, and a generous spoon of mild yellow curry powder bloomed in the oil. Garlic and ginger run quietly underneath; a single chopped chilli does the heat work if you want it. It is a vegetarian dish in most homes, though it sits happily alongside fried fish or chicken stew on a fuller plate. The difficulty for a home cook is low, it is almost foolproof, but watch the potatoes; the dish is best when they hold their shape and the sauce just hugs them rather than dissolving everything into a mash. Eat with chapati to mop up the gravy, or with steamed rice, posho, or matooke.
