Sunset, Moonlight & Cassava: Sophie Musoki on Community and Cuisine in Uganda

Today we welcome Sophie to the podcast. Joining us from Uganda, she writes the blog A Kitchen in Uganda and hosts the podcast Our Food Stories.

Sophie remembers evenings spent around the communal pestle at sunset and by moonlight, where women took turns pounding cassava and preparing dinner while extended families ate together beneath the stars. In our conversation she describes the cassava plant, the small sweet Kabalagala (apple) bananas, and the simple pancakes her mother made and sold for a penny or two to passersby.

Her memories make clear why she feels urgency about preserving food traditions. Through her blog and podcast she records family stories and interviews fellow Ugandans to capture recipes, techniques, and the cultural meanings behind food. Conversations with her parents convinced Sophie that Uganda’s food heritage is threatened by technology, modernization, globalization, changes in religious practice, and lingering impacts of colonization.

Uganda is also a nation of many tribes. Border lines drawn in the past separated some groups from their relatives and grouped diverse peoples together, often with different languages and customs. That fragmentation inspired one of Sophie’s aims: to explore and document the distinct food cultures of Uganda’s tribes and to better understand her own.

Sophie speaks softly and thoughtfully. In this interview she shares memories and knowledge with calm clarity. It’s a pleasure to introduce her here.

Highlights

• Seasons in Uganda — historical patterns and how they have changed
• All about Kabalagala (apple bananas)
• Cassava flour — the process from planting to pounding
• The history of cassava in Uganda — cassava flour is not native
• Over 50 tribes in Uganda — and Sophie’s tribal background
• The evening communal tradition in Sophie’s village
• How they made a dense, large ball-shaped staple
• Kabalagala pancakes sold for a penny or two — cherished childhood memories
• Sophie later buying Kabalagala from a street vendor herself
• Why many Ugandans identify more strongly with tribe than nation — a legacy of colonization
• “I may meet another Ugandan and not even be able to communicate with them”
• How her podcast connects Ugandans through food and cooking stories
• “I can tell you the capital of Tennessee but I can’t tell you about my own region.”
• How technology, religion, and globalization endanger local food knowledge and memory

Listen to Sophie Now

Follow The Storied Recipe in Your Favorite Player

Sophie’s Storied Recipe: Ugandan Vegan Banana & Cassava Flour Pancakes

Kabalagala: Vegan Banana & Cassava Flour Pancakes from Uganda

How To Contact Sophie Musoki

Instagram: @akitcheninuganda

Pinterest: @akitcheninug

Facebook: A Kitchen in Uganda

Website: akitcheninuganda.com

YouTube: A Kitchen in Uganda

How to make Kabalagala pancakes: Video on Sophie’s blog, A Kitchen in Uganda

Episode on cassava preservation from Sophie’s podcast: EKilobeko

How to make Ugandan Posho

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