Ugandan cuisine has a lot in common with the cuisine of West African nations, with glimpses of British, Indian, and Arabic influences. The dish for this month, the Ugandan Potato and Egg Roll, could in fact be mistaken for the Scotch Egg, a boiled egg encased in sausage and fried. The Scotch egg is a dish that is on the face of it, quintessentially English. However, in digging into the origins of the Scotch egg, it appears that the link between its name and its region of origin is less, shall we say, direct. Some say that a dish involving a boiled egg encased in meat originated not in the UK, but actually in North Africa, and that the tradition was carried to the UK en route to France. Others contend that the earliest recorded version of a Scotch egg-ish dish is actually from India. The Nargis Kofta is a boiled egg encased in ground, spiced goat meat, fried and often served in an onion and tomato gravy. Yet others maintain that the Scotch egg hails from Yorkshire. Despite the lack of consensus on its origin, what is unanimous is that this dish is scrumptious. While the Scotch Egg and its Indian cousin feature a boiled egg encased in spiced ground meat, the Ugandan Potato and Egg roll features spiced, mashed potato as the “case.” I used Idaho potatoes (rather large ones) and cilantro as the herb. Panko breadcrumbs are my breadcrumbs of choice, as they fry to a nice crisp and retain the crunch, but any kind of breadcrumbs will work.

Serve hot as an appetizer with ketchup or with tea as a snack.

Ugandan Potato and Egg Roll

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

Eggs – 6 hard boiled eggs + 1
Potatoes, boiled – 4 large
Onion – ½, finely diced
Cilantro or parsley – ½ bunch
Turmeric – ½ tsp
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Chili powder – 1 tsp
Salt – to taste
Breadcrumbs – 1 ½ cups
Vegetable oil – 2 cups

Equipment

Pot
Frying pan
Slotted spoon
2 shallow bowls

Method

1. To prepare hard boiled eggs, bring water in a pot to a rolling boil. Add 6 eggs and reduce the flame to medium. After 10 minutes, remove pot from the stove and add ice to stop the eggs from cooking further.
2. Once the eggs are cool, peel and set aside.
3. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the potatoes and allow to cook until the potatoes are fork tender.
4. Once cool, peel the potatoes.
5. Mash the potatoes until fine and smooth.
6. Add the seasonings: turmeric, cumin, chili and salt to the mashed potatoes and mix well.
7. Add the finely diced onion and cilantro/parsley and mix well.
8. Beat the 1 egg and set aside in a bowl
9. In another bowl, place the breadcrumbs
10. Take a scoop of the spiced mashed potato and make a patty. Take a boiled egg and wrap the mashed potato around it such that the boiled egg is entirely covered and encased in the spiced mashed potato.
11. Dip the mashed potato wrapped egg in the beaten egg and then coat with the breadcrumbs. Repeat with all 6 eggs.
12. Bring a pot of oil to high heat. Carefully add the “rolled eggs” to the oil. Fry until golden brown.
13. Using a slotted spoon remove and set on paper towels to drain.
14. Serve hot.

Recipe and photo credit: Vinola V. Munyon