Food: A Cultural Culinary History

For the luwombo, you will need to fi nd banana leaves, which are sold frozen
in Asian groceries. They serve as the steaming container as well as the plate.
You can make this with any kind of meat, but goat is the richest. Cut up the
goat meat into large chunks, and season with salt and pepper. Crush a few
handfuls of peanuts into a fi ne powder, and toss with the meat. Sprinkle with
some chili fl akes, some chopped onion, grated ginger, and a few chopped
tomatoes. Place two or three banana leaves facing different directions down
on the table, and put in a pile of the meat on top and then fold in the leaves
to enclose. Tie securely with string. Make several bundles, one for each
person. Then, make a fi re, and surround with three bricks. Place a pot on
the bricks over the fi re, add a little water, and put in the banana leaf bundles.
The wood fi re and smoke really does make a difference to the fl avor. Add
water as needed, making sure the bundles don’t burn. Steam for at least two
hours. Cut open the bundles from the top, folding down the leaves to create
a kind of plate, and eat directly from the leaf with some matooke on the side.
Naturally, you use your fi ngers, of the right hand only.