Luwombo is delicacy where chicken, beef, ground nuts, dry fish or any other Sauce is tied up in a banana leaf and steamed over matooke or any other staple in banana leaves or a steamer.

How to Prepare Luwombo the Leaf

The banana leaf used for luwombo, must be fresh, young and without a tear. Clean the leaf with a clean dump cloth and leave on clean surface in the sun for about 25 minutes or more, so that if becomes limp. Next, Carefully smoke the leaves without allowing leaf to dry out. Finally remove the midrib being careful no to tear the leaf, so that it can easily be folded. Prepare two leaves in case one tears.

Preparing chicken Luwombo

Ingredients per portion

• 1/4 chicken (broiler)
• 1 medium size carrot, sliced
• 2 large, ripe tomatoes, shinned
• 1 green paper, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 chicken stock cube, crumbled
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• salt

Method

Heat the butter and fry the onion and garlic until soft. Add the green paper and carrot and cook stirring for 10 minutes. Chop tomatoes roughly and mix with tomato paste, salt and chicken stock cube. Cover pan and simmer until tomatoes are cooked. Add a little water to make medium thick sauce. Remove the heat.

Place prepared luwombo leaf on a soup plate, making sure the center of the leaf is in the middle of the plate. Put chicken in the center of the leaf and carefully pour the sauce over it, keeping sauce as close around the chicken as possible.

Cover the chicken with a small, clean piece of banana leaf. Carefully gather the top and sides of the luwombo leaf and tie them securely together with a piece of banana fibre, well above the mixture. Neatly trim off the ends of the leaf above the knot with a sharp knife.

Place luwombo carefully, over food to be steamed. Cover well with banana leaves and a large saucepan and steam steadily for 3 hours or more. To serve put tied Luwombo in small basket or soup plate, untie , remove leaf starting with the ends. Serve with greens, steamed matooke and other staples and fresh orange or passion fruit or juice.