Your stomach grumbles like the emptiness inside, and you wouldn’t mind being filled by a Kikomando (beans and sliced chapati inspired by the commando soldier or unit eating quickly in the field).
But then you remember what time it is and go for that roadside snack that is the only timepiece which will help you make peace with time. Oh, yes: it’s Rolex time!
Ugandan Rolex, commonly referred to as Rolex, is an urban Ugandan largely inexpensive food item prepared by combining an egg omelette and vegetables wrapped in a chapati.
If your mouth is watering, allow us to tell you why this snack could be Uganda’s national food.
It’s simple to make: The Ugandan Rolex is a single-portion snack that can be prepared as fast as you can say “chapati and eggs”.
It can be eaten at any time of the day, from breakfast to lunch or dinner or at teatime. If you know Ugandans, you know that they are majorly simple folk.
Just leave them alone to party and make some money for an after party, then you have them by lapels, as it were. Their psyche is basic, like a Rolex. So why not have food that reflects our national temperament?
Ugandans love to ‘Eggs-aggerate’: The name "rolex" comes from its method of preparation, with the chapati and the omelette rolled together ("rolled eggs").
Now, who would have guessed that? Ugandans used a Swiss wristwatch that typically goes from $5000 to $100,000 to show you how ‘Eggs-quisite’ their food is.
This Ugandan gift for hyperbole must match their food types. And this has been the case with a Ugandan Rolex. So let’s make the match official and have Ugandans and Rolexes united in the creation of a national food.
Uganda needs Busoga: Apart from making Basoga tribe folk the butts of many ethnic jokes, we love the Basoga for showing us the Rolex.
It came from a chapati seller's creativity in the Busoga region and then spread to Wandegeya next to Makerere University, fueled by students who needed a quick meal because of time and budget limitations.
You see, Busoga is an integral part of Uganda. That’s not only because of the Rolex, but because we stole the Rolex from Busoga Kingdom. And we are not giving it back. To ensure we have it for keeps, then, we should make it the national food.
It’s cheap: For as little as 2000 UGX, you can ‘destroy’ a Rolex. It is its combination of convenience, low cost, taste and, let me say it again; a low cost that gives it its democratic appeal.
Go east, north, south or west, a Rolex is best for your budget. Even if you order a"Titanic", which is two or more chapatis used together in rolling the portion, you will not sink your bank balance.