CUISINE The Ugandan Rolex

Uganda’s ‘Rolex’ is a breakfast luxury that can be purchased on any street corner. Whipped egg is the gold setting. Precious studs of tomato and purple onion glitter across the surface like garnet and amethyst, while fine strands of cabbage sparkle like peridot. The completed jewel is nestled safely in a soft chapati wrap. Ridiculous? Maybe. But shouldn’t everyday food be as precious as a “real” Rolex?

The ohhh -so -yummy Ugandan Rolex Words and pictures by Sasha Martin

What is a Ugandan Rolex? Rolex is classic Ugandan street food. The similarity to the luxury watch brand is happenstance: Once upon a time the vendors who made this treat called out “Rolled Eggs” – nothing more. The basic idea is eggs cooked with cabbage, onion, tomato, and sometimes peppers, which are then wrapped in a chapati. But, as the words careened off their tongue, “Rolled Eggs” sounded more like “Rolex” to visitors. Gradually the (quite fun) misinterpretation stuck.

How do you make a Rolex? To prepare a Rolex in the true Ugandan spirit, a few steps must be followed.

• First, make your way to Uganda… then set up your station. A mug or cup must be used to mix the ingredients together. A standard to oversized mug easily holds all the ingredients for a 2-egg Rolex. The high sides make whipping the mixture together a splash-free activity. No wonder all the street vendors use one! • Second, the egg mixture must be poured onto a hot, welloiled pan and spread out with the same spoon used to whip the eggs. Again, this is all about thinking like a street vendor:

No use getting another utensil dirty! • Once the first side is cooked, flip the eggs over. They should be lightly browned. As they cook, the hot eggs steam and soften the harsh crunch of cabbage and onion, while also stewing the tomatoes. A good dash of salt brings the flavours together into a craveable bite of Uganda.

Here’s the next pro tip from Uganda:

• While the eggs are still in the pan, top them with a large chapati. The steam coming off the eggs will soften the chapati and make it easier to roll. • Finally, many Rolex are wrapped in newspaper for serving. Not all

Ugandans do this – fancier street vendors slide them into cellophane baggies – though some claim the newsprint provides great flavour.

Say what you will about ingesting newsprint, there’s rustic charm to the practice. It soaks up any stray cooking oil or juices …

My daughter Ava wasn’t keen on eating newsprint, so she quickly removed hers. Her final assessment? Yum. Yum. Yum. For the record, I agree.

Between 2010 and 2013, Sasha Martin cooked a meal from every country in the world and eventually prepared 675 recipes from allover the planet – in total, a seven-year effort. Each of these recipes are available on her blog, Global

Table Adventure.