Rwandan Recipes

Rwandan cooking is simple, hearty and built on what grows in the hills. Beans are the everyday protein, and starchy staples include plantains, cassava, sweet potatoes, potatoes, maize and sorghum. Cassava leaves are pounded and cooked into isombe, pumpkin goes into the pot with beans, and peanuts are ground into sauces. Meat is eaten less often, and when it is, it is often goat or beef grilled as brochettes. Rwanda is also a country of cattle keepers, so fermented milk called ikivuguto is common, and fish from Lake Kivu and other lakes, such as tilapia and tiny isambaza, appear fried or grilled. The main meal is usually lunch, and breakfast is often tea, porridge or a doughnut called mandazi. Flavor comes from onion, tomato, garlic and chili sauce, with palm oil in some stews. Meals are shared, and guests are served first.

Staple ingredients

• beans
• plantains
• cassava and cassava leaves
• sweet potatoes
• maize and sorghum
• peanuts
• goat and beef
• fermented milk

• Main Dishes 4
• Snacks 1
• Drinks 1

Main Dishes

• Brochettes (Rwandan Grilled Goat Skewers with Pili-Pili)RW45 minEasy
• Agatogo (Rwandan Plantain and Beef Stew)RW1 h 50 minEasy
• Ibihaza (Rwandan Pumpkin and Bean Stew)RW2 hEasy
• Isombe (Rwandan Cassava Leaves with Peanut and Eggplant)RW1 h 35 minEasy

Snacks

• Isambaza (Crispy Fried Lake Kivu Whitebait)RW40 minEasy

Drinks

• Ikivuguto (Rwandan Fermented Milk)RW20 minEasy