The cuisine of Rwanda is based on local staple foods produced by the traditional subsistence-level agriculture and has historically varied across different areas.

Background

Rwandan staples include bananas,

plantain Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...

pulse In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the n ...

s, sweet potatoes, beans, and

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

(manioc). Historically this is particularly true of the

Twa Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with ...

and the

Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the p ...

s who hunted and farmed. Their diet was high in vegetables and lacking in animal protein due to the small amount of animal products consumed. The

Tutsi The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic ...

s were traditionally

pastoralists Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The animal s ...

and consumed a higher amount of milk and dairy products. Many Rwandans eat a lot of meat nowadays. For those that live near lakes and have access to fish,

tilapia Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most ...

is popular. The

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

, thought to have been introduced to Rwanda by German colonial empire, German and Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colonists, is now very popular and is cultivated in the towns of Gitarama, Rwanda, Gitarama and Butare.

National dishes

Various dishes have evolved from the range of basic foods consumed. ''Ugali'' (or ''bugali''), eaten throughout sub-Saharan Africa, is a paste made from maize and water to form a porridge-like consistency. ''Isombe'' is made from mashed cassava leaves and served with meat or fish. ''Matoke'' is a dish made from baked or steamed bananas. ''Ibihaza'' is made from pumpkins cut into pieces, mixed with beans and boiled without peeling them. The groundnut paste ''ikinyiga'' and millet flour paste ''umutsima w’uburo'' are made from boiling water and flour, mixed to a porridge-like consistency. In the restaurants in the capital city of Kigali, locals and expatriates eat a variety of international cuisine, including Indian cuisine, Indian, Chinese cuisine, Chinese, Italian cuisine, Italian, and African cuisine, African. In other cities and towns, the cuisine is simpler, often consisting of chicken, fish, goat or steak served with rice or French fries.

Beverages

Milk is a common drink among Rwandans. Other popular drinks in Rwanda include fruit juice, wine, beer and Bralirwa Brewery, soda (Fanta) for those who do not drink alcohol. Commercial beers drunk in Rwanda include Primus beer, Primus, Mützig beer, Mützig and Amstel Brewery, Amstel. In rural areas, ''urwagwa'' is a beer made from the fermented juice of bananas that has been mixed with roasted sorghum flour. Beers feature in traditional rituals and ceremonies and are generally consumed only by men. ''Ikigage'' is an alcoholic beverage made from dry sorghum that is thought to have medicinal powers. ''Ubuki'' is made from fermented honey and has an alcohol content of about 12 percent.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Authority control Rwandan cuisine, East African cuisine

Background

National dishes

Beverages

See also

References

Bibliography