Nature Identical and Artificial Vanilla Flavor – 2 Ugandan recipes to try at home

Chapatti – Ugandan Tortillas

Ingredients:
2 1/2 to 3 Cups of Flour
1/2 Green Pepper, Diced
1/2 Red Onion, Diced
6 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
2 Teaspoons of Salt
2 Eggs
Hot Water to Blend, About 1/2 Cup
Oil for the skillet

Instructions:
Dice veggies and garlic and put into a medium size mixing bowl. Add the eggs and salt and whisk. Add the flour and blend with your fingers. Add hot water slowly and blend to make a soft but not sticky dough. Add remaining flour if needed.

Knead dough for about 5 minutes and let it sit, covered, for 30 minutes in the mixing bowl. Pinch off sections of the dough that are about the size of golf balls. Let these rest for 10 minutes. Roll the dough out to small circles on a lightly floured surface (a beer bottle is my rolling pin).

Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium heat, cast iron is best. Add the chapatti to the skillet right on top of the oil. Flip the chapatti right away to coat the dough in oil, add a little more if needed. Cook and flip until lightly brown on both sides.

Makes about 8 Chapatti. Great with guacamole, taco filling, as mini pizza crusts, or just by themselves. Tony and I often eat them while we make them because they are so good! You can also make them without the veggies and make a cinnamon sugar sort of elephant ear with them too.

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Banana Cake with Sugar Syrup

Ingredients for the Cake:
1/2 Cup of Butter (or the Ugandan equivalent, Blueband)
2 Cups of Flour
1 Cup of Milk
1 Tablespoon of Vinegar
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract (Optional)
1 1/2 Cups of Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda (Known as Bicarbonate of Soda here)
2 Ripe Bananas, Mashed
2 Eggs

Ingredients for the Syrup:
1/2 Cup of Water
1/2 Cup of Sugar

Instructions:

In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside. In a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugar together. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Mix in mashed bananas.

In a mug or glass mix the milk and vinegar together to make sour milk. This is important! The sour milk brings out the flavor of the bananas.

Alternate between adding the flour mixture and sour milk to the batter and mix until smooth. Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 baking dish (or aluminum saucepan). Bake for about 40 minutes. The temperature to bake at is unknown, maybe try 325.

Or if you want you can try to make it on a charcoal grill. I have one big aluminum saucepan with sand in the bottom. I pour the batter into a small saucepan and put on a lid. It’s a type of homemade oven. I cook it until a toothpick comes out clean.

To make the syrup pour the water and sugar into a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Pour this over the finished cake. Enjoy!