Growing up sucks. We seem to always be in search for something that we can’t reach. It gets even more frustrating when easy things to find, like Kabalagala/pancakes/paani are also out of reach! But find them I did! when I wasn’t even looking (there’s a lesson to be learned there).
Sure there are those ones that you see behind greasy glass displays, i urge you , desist, go for the ones that look like this.
Or the ones wrapped in ndagala (banana leaves). I don’t know if it does something for the taste but it is certainly cleaner.
Kabalagala is best eaten warm and that is why the perfect place to find it is the streets. Yes you can try the supermarket and microwave them but you’ll lose a bit of the kabalagalaness. Plus they tend to become extra oily when you go that route, and the insides harden or go to the other end and over soften, like the ingredients want to separate, like you have done an unnatural thing to the formula.
One of my earliest childhood memories is of eating Kabalagala, back when they were sold from baskets. Perhaps that is why i am inclined to the more traditional way. This lady fries under firewood to cement that even further.
The best are those that have the right amount of sweetness, courtesy of sweet bananas-these ones had that. The Kabalagala was soft and yet firm, with the perfect dose of nostalgia.
Please do not pass this madam by, she sits away from the chaos on the road just as you approach Satellite hotel in Kisaasi. As with most things of this variety, she is only available in the evening. You can get 3 pancakes for 500 shillings.
PS, I learnt that this an example of a gluten free snack.
How cassava, bananas and cooking oil can taste so good is beyond me.
Eat this when you want a reminder of childhood-or just want a different type of snack, for those who missed that experience.