Rwanda: vegan agatogo

Today we are visiting Rwanda to cook vegan agatogo. From our last stop in Eastern Europe, we head south and find ourselves once more in East Africa. Agatogo is a Rwandan tomato-based stew with plantain or matoke. Read on to learn more about Rwandan cuisine and agatogo or jump straight to the recipe.

Rwandan cuisine

Rwanda is a small, landlocked East African country. We have recently visited two of Rwanda’s neighbours, Burundi where we made beans and bananas, and the Central African country the Democratic Republic of Congo, where we cooked vegan fumbwa. Rwanda lies in a mountainous region surrounded by large lakes and is known as “the land of a thousand hills” ​[1]​.

Rwandan cuisine is dependent on local, small-scale farming ​[2]​. Local fruits and vegetables are the backbone of Rwandan dishes and meat is often a rarity, in particular in rural areas ​[3]​. In the cities, meat and fish are both a bit more common. Local starches include matoke (a relative to plantain), sweet potatoes, cassava, millet, and corn ​[1]–[3]​. Other important produce are beans, peas, peanuts, onion, tomato, cabbage, peppers, and leafy greens, including cassava leaves. The plants themselves are often the main contributor to flavour in Rwandan meals, sometimes accompanied by Maggie cubes, hot peppers and fresh herbs like cilantro ​[4]​.

Rwandan dishes

There are many local, plant-based or plant-heavy Rwandan specialties to choose from. Isombe is a green stew based on pounded cassava leaves cooked with onion, eggplant and tomatoes​[1]​. Isombe, and many other stews, are usually served with ugali or bugali. Ugali is a firm, porridge-like mash made from ground corn ​[1]​. Similar to West-African fufu, ugali is enjoyed throughout East Africa and known by many names, like pap and nsima ​[3], [5]​. In some regions, cassava or millet are used instead of corn.

Muvanje is another interesting dish. This stew is made from several different starches including sweet potatoes, cassava, and arrow roots, along with beans and pumpkin ​[4]​. To add a little heat to their meals, Rwandans use akabanga, an extremely hot chili oil made from scotch bonnet and vegetable oil ​[6]​ as well as pili pili sauce made from scotch bonnet, onions, garlic and tomatoes ​[3], [7]​.

Matoke, a relative to plantain, is an important staple in the region, as we learned when visiting Rwanda’s southern neighbour Burundi where we made beans and bananas. In Rwanda, matoke is also served deep-fried as chips called mizuzu ​[3]​. Urwaga is a beer made by fermenting bananas ​[1]​. Igisafuria is a one-pot meal made by simmering matoke with onion, tomatoes, celery, and hot peppers (usually with chicken as well) ​[1]​ while umunyinjye is simply mashed matoke served as a side dish ​[3]​.

Agatogo

One of the many Rwandan dishes that use matoke or plantain is agatogo. Onion and garlic are fried in oil before tomatoes and matoke or plantain are added. The stew then simmers until the plantain are ready. Some cooks also add bell pepper​[8]–[10]​, leafy greens ​[10], [11]​, carrots​[8], [9]​ or celery ​[12]​ for extra flavour. Some also add chili for a bit of heat ​[13]​ or a handful of fresh cilantro. Agatogo is sometimes finished with crushed, toasted peanuts ​[8], [11], [12]​. Enjoy the agatogo on its own or with some avocado, ugali, rice or bread.

Vegan agatogo and other substitutions

Agatogo is usually vegan but a few recipes add meat ​[13], [14]​. Making the stew vegan is as simple as using an original, vegan agatogo recipe and not adding any meat. One recipe I came across uses oyster mushrooms in place of the optional meat ​[8]​. Like many other East and West African recipes,some agatogo recipes call for Maggi cubes, a Nestlé brand stock cube. Instead, I use a standard vegetable stock powder or cubes in my local stores. Maggi cubes are heavy in MSG so if you like some of that amino acid flavour, you can use Maggi cubes or maybe a splash of soy sauce or liquid amino acids ​[9]​.

Conclusion

This Rwandan vegan agatogo turned out great. The tomato-based sauce with browned onion, garlic, and bell pepper was of course very flavourful. The plantains added a hint of sweetness and the peanuts added a bit of crunch and richness. The plantains themselves did not taste that much, likely because they are green (and shipped to Canada). A very tasty dish that was nice to try.

Vegan agatogo

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Vegan agatogo

Course Main Course

Cuisine East African, Rwandan

Keyword plantain, stew

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Ingredients

• ½ red onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 green plantains
• ½ green bell pepper, chopped
• ½ carrot, chopped
• 80 mL1 peanuts, ground
• 400 mL vegetable stock
• 1 chili, whole optional
• 2 tbsp oil for cooking
• avocado optional, for serving

Instructions

• Peel the plantains by cutting off the end and slicing through the peel. Cut into pieces. I cut the plantain into halves and then lengthwise but you can also slice them into coins.
• Add oil to a large pot on medium heat. Brown the onion for several minutes.
• Add garlic and stir until fragrant.
• Add tomato puré and stir in. Let cook for a minute.
• Add fresh tomatoes, carrots, bell pepper, and chili if using.
• Add ~300-400 mL water and vegetable stock.
• Add the plantains.
• Simmer on low o medium heat for 30 minutes until the plantains are done. They should be soft throughout but not fall apart.
• Stir in crushed peanuts.
• Serve with avocado, rice, ugali, and/or bread.

References