Ankole cattle are mostly reared in the rift valley along the borders, but are common in the semi-arid strip often called the cattle corridor.
This rustic breed is raised for both its meat and milk. Among the traditional culture of the banyankore, the milk is handled by the women in a special setting called orugyegye. This is where milk is collected, cooled and processed.
It is then restored in ekyanzi (curved vessels made from black smoked wood), while to get yoghurt and ghee, a big dried calabash is used.
The milk has a high fat content and is processed into classified ghee.
How to make ghee
The milk is sieved, boiled, and left to rest overnight. The cream is removed and transferred into a calabash for churning.
The formed ghee is then separated from the residual liquid, put in a saucepan with clean water, and washed. The final product has a shelf of more than six months, and over time, acquires pungent flavour.
Milk is also transformed into yoghurt (amakamo or bongo). Some of the processed milk production is reserved for home consumption in traditional dishes like eshabwe and nunire (ghee sauce with rock salt used to season vegetables, matooke, rice), while the surplus is sold to local shops and vendors.
Requirements for making ashabwe
- 2kg ntsimbo ghee
- 3 teaspooful of rock salt
- Fresh water.
(Sourced from Flow Foods Uganda)
