With few ingredients and aromatics, Rwandan cuisine’s simple dishes often rely on locally grown vegetables and readily available proteins, making the meals truly farm-to-table. Among popular traditional Rwandan dishes are Ugali, Matoke, Beans, Cassava and Rucakarara, or sorghum bread – our focus dish.
When you mention Rurara or sorghum bread (Ugali) to a young Rwandan today, it sounds more like another grandma story from the 1920s during the kingdom’s reign than a meal.
For the older generation, however, it was a routine dish, for they had it every day. Rucakarara made from sorghum, is a highly nutritious food that plays a crucial role in the Rwandan diet as it is high in complex carbohydrates, providing sustained energy throughout the day.
While not as high as some other grains, sorghum contains a moderate amount of protein, contributing to muscle health and growth. The bread is also high in dietary fibre, aiding digestion and promoting a feeling of fullness.
The dish is also prepared during the Umuganura celebration, an annual cultural festival where communities share their harvest on the first Friday of August.
The traditional Rwandan sorghum bread has been a cornerstone of the country’s cuisine for generations. This dense, nutritious bread was particularly vital in rural areas where sorghum was a staple crop.
Today, while rucakarara is less common due to changing diets and the availability of commercial bread, it remains an important part of Rwanda’s culinary heritage. Efforts are being made to preserve the knowledge of traditional foods like rucakarara, recognising their cultural value.
Like other meals, Gen-Z has managed to modernise and make dishes differently from its past preparation techniques. For instance, the works of TikToker Nara Smith. Some people now have a different recipe for the bread.
Though some cook this traditional meal with bananas and blue band, we’ll walk the old ways. Here is a detailed look at how it was prepared from harvest to a ready meal.
Harvesting and Drying: The process began with harvesting ripe sorghum grains. The grain heads were cut and left to dry in the sun for several days. This drying process was crucial to reduce moisture content and prepare the grains for storage and processing. Threshing and
Winnowing: Once dried, the grains were threshed to separate them from the stalks. This was often done by beating the dried heads with sticks. The grains were then winnowed, usually by tossing them in the air on flat baskets, allowing the wind to blow away the chaff.
Grinding: The clean sorghum grains were ground into flour using traditional methods. Commonly, women used grinding stones – a larger flat base stone and a smaller handheld stone for grinding. Some communities used wooden mortars and pestles. This process was time-consuming and required significant physical effort.
Preparing and Cooking: Afterward, the freshly ground sorghum flour was mixed with warm water in a large pot placed over a fire. The mixture was kneaded thoroughly until it formed a thick, sticky paste. The consistency was crucial–too dry and the bread would crumble, too wet and it wouldn’t cook properly. The bread would steam for some time, depending on the size and quantity of the bread.
Shaping the Bread: The well-cooked bread was then shaped into a typically round or oval shape.
Wrapping and Serving: It was carefully wrapped in fresh banana leaves. The leaves were first softened over a fire to make them pliable. The wrapping process was important as it helped to steam the bread and impart a subtle flavour. It was served in banana leaves.
Rucakarara was often served warm, though it could be stored for several days. Its dense texture and slightly sour taste made it a filling meal on its own, but it was often accompanied by bean dishes, meat stews, or vegetable sides.
The preparation of rucakarara was not just a cooking process but a social activity. Women often gathered to prepare the bread together, sharing stories and passing down the traditional techniques to younger generations. This communal aspect of food preparation played a significant role in maintaining cultural traditions and strengthening community bonds in rural Rwanda.
