By Beatrice Nakibuuka
Irish potatoes are widely grown in the western and south western parts of Uganda. They are the world’s fourth most important staple food after maize, wheat and rice. They are available in many varieties. Although they have been traditionally consumed as boiled or as chips, Sarah Kengonzi a cookery instructor in Kampala, says there are several ways to add value to potatoes.
“Different varieties make different products and the long growing tubers are more preferable as opposed to the round ones,” she says.
Potato cutlets
These are mashed potatoes rolled into small balls, and then dipped into beaten eggs then fried. You might add grated carrots, ginger, coriander and lemon to flavour your cutlets. To prepare the cutlets, you need to peel the potatoes, boil them for 15 minutes until they are soft after which they are mashed.
They are then dipped in eggs and shallow fried for five minutes until they are brownish in colour. Bread crumbs are then sprinkled on the surface of the cutlets to make them more delicious. They can be served with fish or chicken.
Mashed potato
Peel the potatoes, chop into pieces and boil for 15 minutes until they are soft. Pound them until they appeal paste-like. Grated garlic and white pepper can also be thrown in to the mix for a rich a flavour. This dish can be served with beef or chicken stew.
Baked potato
The perfect baked potato is crispy on the outside and fluffy in the inside. One needs a fairly large potato for baking. Wash the potato but do not peel. Small amounts of herbs such as rosemary and parsley are also needed to add flavour to the baked potato.
You also need salt, sliced onions and white pepper for seasoning, and corn oil. Bake in an oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 40 to 45 minutes. Use a sharp knife or a fork to test if the potatoes are soft enough and use a spoon to lift them on to a plate.
Boiled potato
Boiled potatoes have a nice creamy texture once cooked. Wash the potatoes and chop into pieces before boiling for 15-20 minutes until the water is drained. Boiling only requires salt for seasoning but you can include herbs such as thyme or garlic cloves and bay leaves for flavouring.
Grilled potato
When grilling potatoes, you need to wrap the unpeeled tubers with a foil paper – after washing them. Put them on the grill for about 25 minutes. Once they are ready, lift them out of the grill using a spoon and serve.
Boiling and frying
In boiling and frying, peeled potatoes are chopped into sizable cubes and boiled in salted water for 10 minutes. They are then drained and dried before being deep fried in corn or vegetable oil for about 15 minutes until they are brown. Remove from the oil, leave to cool, and later serve.
Chips or French fries
Potatoes are peeled, sliced and chopped to 1cm sizes. They are then washed, dried and parboiled (partially boiled), then drained and left to cool. The chips are then blanched in a pan or fryer of oil at 155 degrees Celsius. Remove them and let them cool. When you are ready to serve, fry them again in heated oil two minutes at 185 degrees Celsius.
Crisps
Place potato slices into a large bowl of cold water as you slice them as thinly as possible. Once they are cleaned, soak them in salty water for at least 30 minutes, then drain them and rinse. Thereafter, soak them in a mixture of white vinegar to prevent the slices from disintegrating.
Heat oil in a deep fryer to 185 degrees Celsius, then dip the potato slices to fry. Once they start turning golden, remove and drain on paper towels. Continue until all of the slices are fried. Season with salt if desired. You can also stem the potatoes, make salads, cakes, and soup.
Money matters
Potatoes take about four months to mature for harvesting; thus, can be grown twice a year. They are commonly grown in Kisoro and Kabale districts and are often intercropped with beans. “Finding market for this produce is a big challenge, says Julius Ayebale a farmer in Kabale.
This is because farmers do not sell the potatoes directly to consumers so the middlemen end up buying the potatoes at a cheap price from the farmers while exploiting the consumers who pay a high price.”
Potato prices depend largely on who is buying it, availability on the market and the sizes of the produce. Medium sized potatoes are sometimes counted and in Nakasero market, about 12 can go for Shs2,000. Irish potatoes are one of the crops that never get out of season. A bag of Irish potatoes can be between Shs250,000 and Shs300,000
