Local Dishes

1. Ubugali

   Ubugali (stiff flour porridge)

   Usage

   The staple. You pinch off a lump by hand and dip it in isombe, beans or sauce. It is made from cassava (imyumbati) flour; maize- and sorghum-flour versions exist too. Note: the other spelling "ubugari" also means "width", so "ubugali" is the less ambiguous form for the food

   Grammar Note

   A class 14 (ubu-) noun; a mass noun with no plural.

2. Isombe

   Isombe (pounded cassava leaves)

   Usage

   Young cassava leaves pounded and simmered a long time. It is seasoned with celery (sereri), onion (igitunguru) and peanut flour (ifu y'ubunyobwa) and served alongside beans (ibishyimbo). The leaves are cooked in oil

   Grammar Note

   Used as-is as the dish name; combine it with the verb "guteka" (to cook) as "guteka isombe" when asking how it is made.

3. Agatogo

   Agatogo (stewed cooking bananas)

   Usage

   Cooking bananas (igitoki) stewed with beans, meat and vegetables; this preparation is called agatogo.

   Grammar Note

   A class 12 (aka-) noun. The prefix's k voices to g before a following voiceless t (aka- becomes aga-); before a voiced consonant it stays aka-, as in "akabenzi".

4. Akabenzi

   Akabenzi (chunks of pork)

   Usage

   Pieces of pork; served grilled or fried at eateries and bars. Note that it is pork, so avoid it if your diet excludes it. Menus sometimes shorten the spelling to "Akabenz"

   Grammar Note

   A class 12 (aka-) noun. The prefix stays "aka-" before the voiced b, whereas it becomes "aga-" before the voiceless t of "agatogo".

5. Isambaza

   Isambaza (tiny Lake Kivu fish, fried whole)

   Usage

   A small fish from Lake Kivu. It comes from Rubavu, Karongi and Rusizi districts. Preparation involves drying the fish, passing it through oil and simmering it in sauce, or simply boiling it. A very small fish, eaten whole. A signature dish of lakeside eateries

   Grammar Note

   This noun takes zi- agreement (class 10), i.e. as a plural referring to a whole plateful rather than a single fish.

6. Indagara

   Indagara (small freshwater sardine)

   Usage

   The scientific name is Limnothrissa miodon. It is a cheap fish available in Rwanda and Burundi. Sold dried at markets and eaten fried or simmered; "isambaza" refers to the larger specimens

7. Ifiriti

   Ifiriti (chips / fries)

   Usage

   Means “fries, potato chip”. Usually made from potatoes, though they are also made from "imizuzu" (also called "imishaba"), a cooking-banana variety. Available at virtually every eatery

8. Ibishyimbo

   Ibishyimbo (stewed beans)

   Usage

   A near-constant item on the mixed plate, served alongside ubugali or isombe.

   Grammar Note

   A class 8 (ibi-) plural; the class 7 singular "igishyimbo" means a single bean. As a dish it is always plural.

9. Ibirayi

   Ibirayi (potatoes)

   Usage

   A standard item on the mixed plate, served boiled. The same potatoes fried become "ifiriti"

   Grammar Note

   A class 8 (ibi-) plural; the class 7 singular is "ikirayi".

10. Ibitoki

    Ibitoki (cooking bananas / plantains)

    Usage

    Distinct from ripe dessert bananas (imineke): these are boiled or fried as a staple. Varieties differ by use — "imishaba" cooked in oil, "inyamunyo" boiled in water — and they are the main staple in the east. The main ingredient of agatogo

    Grammar Note

    A class 8 (ibi-) plural; the class 7 singular is "igitoki". Alternative spellings are "igitoke" / "ibitoke".

11. Ibijumba

    Ibijumba (sweet potatoes)

    Usage

    Boiled and eaten for breakfast or as a snack. They came from South America in the colonial period and yellow, red, purple and white varieties are grown locally

    Grammar Note

    A class 8 (ibi-) plural; the class 7 singular is "ikijumba".

12. Amateke

    Amateke (taro corms)

    Usage

    Boiled and eaten much like potatoes. It is a crop of Asian origin that grows widely in Rwanda; the leaves are eaten as a vegetable too

    Grammar Note

    A class 6 (ama-) plural; the class 5 singular is "iteke".

13. Imyumbati

    Imyumbati (cassava)

    Usage

    Eaten boiled, or milled into flour for ubugali; the leaves become isombe. It was also called "gumino"

    Grammar Note

    A class 4 (imi-, becoming imy- before a vowel) plural; the class 3 singular is "umwumbati".

14. Umutsima

    Umutsima (thick sorghum-flour paste)

    Usage

    An old staple, umutsima is made by working ground sorghum (amasaka) into a thick paste. Also described as local bread or porridge. Similar to ubugali but made from a different flour.

    Grammar Note

    A class 3 (umu-) noun.

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