How to prepare a delicious dish of Malewa

Kamaleya, commonly known as malewa, is a household sauce and a traditional identity among Gishu tribe along the slopes of Mount Elgon in Uganda.

The sauce, made out of bamboo, is a good accompaniment for posho and smushed bananas.

Over the years, it has become more than a traditional delicacy and is now cherished by many across the social spectrum.

John Musila, explains how the bamboo is processed at harvest into a semi processed flat fibre.

"The fibre can be stored for a year and beyond in semi processed form. The next step of processing happens in the kitchen," he said.

The ingredients include, water, smoked bamboo fibre, ground nuts and soda ash, for seasoning the sauce.

The soda ash is purely burnt banana peelings or burnt beans remains as Nandutu explains.

First, the dry smoked bamboo fiber is placed in a cooking pot containing water and boiled for 30 minutes to remove the smell of the soot.

There after, the fibre is thoroughly washed with cold water. The process is repeated with fresh water until the water remains clear.

However, some part of the fibre are not edible.

The next step is to cut out the edible segments and dispose off the joints.

Meanwhile, soda ash is also being processed to get the extract which is to be used for seasoning the bamboo.

The amount of soda ash extract determines the taste of the sauce.

The clean edible pieces of the bamboo are added to water containing soda ash extracts and boiled for 30 minute before ground nut paste is added.

The content is boiled further to allow the ground nut paste to get ready.

There after, kamaleya is ready to be served.

It is served in restaurants, hotels and it hardly misses on party menus in Bugisu.

It has also become a booming business in the local markets especially during the harvest season.