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Kikomando
Kikomando: Kampala's chopped chapati tossed with spicy bean stew
Kampala students named this after a commando film hero, the joke being that it gives you the strength to survive on almost no money, and roadside chapati makers from Makerere to Wandegeya still sell it all evening. Hot chapatis are chopped into strips and folded through a quick, peppery bean stew, so the bread soaks up the sauce yet keeps a little chew. Raw onion, tomato and green chilli on top make it fresh and crunchy. The mistake is drowning it: the beans should be thick enough to cling, not soup. Ready-made chapatis work well, but check they are made with oil if you want it vegan. Chef's tip: warm the chapatis in a dry pan until they puff and blister before chopping; cold ones turn rubbery in the sauce.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
For the beans
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onionchopped
- 2 garlic clovescrushed
- 2 tomatoeschopped
- 1 tsp mild curry powder
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- 2 tins tinned red kidney beans400 g each, drained and rinsed
- ¾ cup water
- ¾ tsp salt
To finish
- 3 chapatisready-made or leftover, plain (made with oil for vegan)
- ½ red onionfinely sliced
- 1 tomatodiced
- 1 green chilli (optional)chopped
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a pan over a medium heat and fry 1 onion until soft and golden at the edges.
6 minStep 2: Add 2 garlic cloves, 1 tsp mild curry powder and ½ tsp chilli powder and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant.
Step 3: Add 2 tomatoes and cook, pressing with the spoon, until they collapse into a thick sauce and the oil glistens around the edges.
5 minStep 4: Stir in 2 tins tinned red kidney beans, ¾ cup water and ¾ tsp salt, and simmer, mashing a few beans to thicken it, until the sauce is thick enough to cling to the beans.
8 minStep 5: Meanwhile, warm 3 chapatis one at a time in a dry frying pan over a medium-high heat until soft and lightly blistered, about 30 seconds a side.
Step 6: Roll each chapati up and cut across into 1–2 cm strips, then chop the strips in half.
Step 7: Fold the chapati pieces into the beans off the heat so they are coated but not soggy.
Step 8: Pile onto plates and scatter with ½ red onion, 1 tomato and 1 green chilli. Eat straight away.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 690 kcal
- Protein
- 26 g
- Carbs
- 104 g
- Fat
- 19 g
- Fibre
- 22 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kikomando take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 2 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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