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Lana Mihajlović posted an update
Level:
Sous Chef
🇷🇼 Inkoko mu sauce y’ikinyomoro na mango, ugali & Creamed spinach
Chicken in tamarillo & mango sauce, served with ugali and creamed spinach
Not long ago I shared a photo of the fruit my dear friend brought me from Rwanda – ikinyomoro (tamarillos) and mangoes. I mentioned that I would create both a sweet and a savory dish with them.
Today, I’m sharing the savory version.
I prepared Inkoko mu sauce y’ikinyomoro na mango – chicken simmered in a vibrant Rwandan sauce where tamarillo meets the mellow sweetness of mango, gently spiced with crushed red pepper to bring warmth and balance. The result is a sauce that feels alive… tangy, fruity, and slightly smoky.
To stay true to the Rwandan spirit, I served it with ugali, a simple cornmeal side that quietly soaks up every drop of flavor. Traditionally, this dish would be served with isombe made from cassava leaves, but since cassava isn’t available here in Serbia, I decided to add a touch of my world and made Creamed spinach (Épinards à la crème).
Cooking it in Belgrade, I felt once again close to Rwanda. Its warmth, its rhythm, its quiet strength that hides in simplicity. For a moment, as the sauce thickened and the air filled with the scent of mango and tamarillo, it felt like home stretched its arms across continents, carried me back to Rwanda, to its hills, its warmth, and its calm rhythm.
Mercedes Minaya Palacios, Saydon Tz and 8 others9 Comments-
Level:
Executive Chef
How beautiful and traditional, just the way I like it.
Level:
Executive Chef
Qué bonito y con tradición, como a mí me gusta.
111 months agoTranslated from Spanish
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Level:
Sous Chef
@cecu6669hotmail-com Thank you ♥️
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Level:
Executive Chef
What an international proposal you bring us, a lot of tradition and flavor in your dish
Level:
Executive Chef
Vaya propuesta internacional que nos traes, mucha tradición y mucho sabor en tu plato
111 months agoTranslated from Spanish
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Level:
Sous Chef
@mercedesminayapalaciosgmail-com Thank you dear ♥️
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Level:
Scoolinary Team
Your plating is stunning, Lana —there’s a real sense of care in how each element rests on the plate. The richness of the sauce and the softness of the ugali make this feel both soulful and deeply personal. Beautiful storytelling through food!
Is there something special in Rwandan food culture about when or how this dish is typically eaten? We’d love to learn more about the traditions behind it.
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Level:
Sous Chef
@soldamiani Thank you so much Sol! My dish isn’t a traditional Rwandan recipe on its own, but it is made of elements that are very typical in Rwanda. Ugali, for example, is one of the most common staples across the country. A simple, firm cornmeal dish that’s eaten almost daily and served as the base to many meals. It’s usually paired with vegetables, beans, sauces or isombe, because its neutral taste makes it perfect for soaking up flavor.
Isombe (traditionally made from cassava leaves) is another important part of the Rwandan table. Beans and plantain bananas are also very common, while meat is enjoyed more often in cities than in rural areas. And of course, goat or chicken brochettes are one of the best-known dishes in Rwanda.
So even though the sauce and the composition are my own interpretation, this plate is built from pieces of Rwanda… flavors and memories combined in my kitchen.-
Level:
Scoolinary Team
@lanamihajlovic Thank you so much for sharing this, Lana! 🌍✨ The way you describe it—it’s clear that each ingredient carries not just flavor, but memory and meaning. Your plate feels like a heartfelt map of your kitchen… and that makes it truly powerful.
The simplest elements often hold everything together. 😌
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Level:
Executive Chef
how wonderful Lana 💖 I love your dish. Just pronouncing its name: Inkoko mu sauce y’ikinyomoro na mango… and it already evokes so many things in me. I don’t know Rwanda, but I do know other places in Africa, and you have made me travel there. I’m seeing those hills of an incredible red earth, I’m hearing their music, their rhythms, I’m seeing their faces… and I’m tasting that dish. Thank you for bringing back such beautiful memories
Level:
Executive Chef
qué maravilla Lana 💖 me encanta tu plato. Solo pronunciar su nombre: Inkoko mu sauce y’ikinyomoro na mango… y ya me evoca muchas cosas. No conozco Ruanda, pero sí otros lugares de África, y me has hecho viajar hasta allí. Estoy viendo esas colinas de una tierra roja increíble, estoy escuchando su música, sus ritmos, estoy viendo sus rostros… y estoy paladenado ese plato. Gracias por traerme recuerdos tan bonitos
111 months agoTranslated from Spanish
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Level:
Sous Chef
@beatriztorijagmail-com Thank you sis ♥️ It makes me incredibly happy that the name and the spirit of the dish carried you back to your own memories of Africa. Rwanda has that same red earth, that same rhythm in the air, those same warm faces that stay with you long after you leave.
This plate was my way of reconnecting with that feeling, of letting ingredients speak a language made of colors, scents and landscapes.If my dish made you travel even for a moment, then I’m truly honored. ☺️🥰
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