Mogo also known as cassava or yucca is a staple of Uganda.  Mogo can be cooked in a lot of ways. Few examples are:It can be boiled, fried, made into chips, or cooked with spices.  Fried Mogo is like potato fries and a lot of the small cafes served fried mogo with ambli or lemon juice, salt and chilly powder.  In school at recess boiled mogo was sold in the canteen so we would have mogo and milk or pop.

Mogo is also a street food in East Africa.   The locals roast the mogo over the barbeque sprinkling salt, chilly powder and lemon on it. 

In Canada,you can buy fresh mogo from Supermarkets and frozen mogo from Indian grocery stores.

Mogo, when dried to a starchy, powdery (or pearly) extract is called tapioca.

Ingredients

• 2                 lbs Frozen Mogo
• 4                 cups water
• 2                 tsp salt
• 3                 medium onions
• 3                 medium tomatoes
• 1                 tbsp green masala
• 2                 tsp tomato paste
• 1                 tsp coriander and cumin powder
• 1/2              tsp turmeric powder
• 1                 tsp chilly powder(or to taste)
• 1/2              tsp citric acid or
•                    juice of 2 lemon
• 1                 cup chopped cilantro
• 4                 cups oil for frying

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan boil the water with 1 tsp salt.  Add the mogo and cook it for about 10 minutes.  Slice the mogo into chips about 1/2 inch thick.
2. Heat the oil to medium hot and deep fry the chips to golden brown in color.   (The oil is ready when if you put the end of the wooden spoon in the oil and tiny bubble appear around it).
3. Drain the chips on paper towel.
4. Peel and thinly slice the onions.
5. Thinly slice the tomatoes.
6. Heat 4 tbsp of oil in a large saucepan.  Add the onions and fry till the onions are transparent, about 5 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and rest of the ingredients.  Mix and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes.
7. Add the mogo and toss it.
8. Serve hot with ambli(tamarind chutney)

Mixed Dal and Rice  Handavo is a traditional Gujarati Savoury Cake, which is a nutritious meal in its own right when served with chutney.  This original recipe takes too long because you have to soak the daal and the rice for 5 hours and then you have to let it rest overnight before you cook it.  I do not know who came up with the instant Handavo  but this recipe is good.  My mum and grandmother always used the original recipe and that tastes different and better than the instant recipe. Hondavo is also known as Ondavo.

I use onions and zucchini, but you can use thinly sliced cabbage and frozen peas or mixed vegetable.

Eno (Eno’s Fruit Salt)

Eno is a mixture of Sodium Bicarbonate citric acid and tartaric acid.  You can substitute eno  with baking powder.

Hondavo can be served for a tea party, as a  light  lunch or mid afternoon snack.

I have used a muffin tin to make small hondavas.

12 small hondava or

1- 9” hondavo

Ingredients

•  2                 cups Wheat lets (Sojee) 
• ½                 cup grated Zucchini
• ½                 cup grated Onion
• 1                  tsp freshly ground Ginger
• 1                  tsp freshly  ground  Garlic
• 1                  tsp freshly ground Jalapeno
• ½                 tsp Ajwan
• ½                 tsp freshly crushed Cumin
• ½                 tsp freshly crushed Black Pepper
• ½                 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1                  tsp Salt (salt to taste)
• ½                 tsp Chili Powder (optional)
• 2                  tbsp sugar
• 1 ½              tsp Citric Acid
•                     or
• 4                  tbsp Lemon Juice
• 2                  tbsp chopped Cilantro
• 3/4               cup yoghurt
• 1                  cup water
• 1                  rounded tsp Baking Powder
• 1                  rounded tsp Eno

For Vagar

• 1/2               cup oil
• 10                curry leaves
• ½                 tsp fenugreek seed
• 1/2               tsp Mustard seeds
• ½                 tsp cumin seeds
• 2                  tbsp sesame seeds

For Decoration

•                     a few onion rings and cilantro (for decoration)
• 2                   tbsp sesame seeds

Instructions

1. In a bowl put the wheat lets, Zucchini, onions, ginger garlic, jalapeño, ajwan, cumin, black pepper, turmeric powder, salt, chili powder, sugar, citric acid, I tablespoon cilantro,  yoghurt and water and make a thick mixture (like cake)
2. In a small saucepan make a vagar.  Heat the oil, add the curry leaves, fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, and cumin seeds. When it starts to pop, take it and pour it in the wheat let mix.   Add baking powder and eno and mix well.
3. Pour this in a prepared 9” round cake Pan. (9 x 3)
4. Decorate with sliced onions, cilantro and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
5. Bake in a preheated oven (350 degrees) on the mid shelf for about an hour. ( put a bamboo stick in the middle of the Hondavo, if it comes out clean it is done).
6. Let it cool in the pan for about ½  hour before you put it on a plate.

Serve it with Tomato chutney or sambaro