🥔 SIDE
Amateke (Burundian Taro with Eggplant and Leeks)
Tender boiled taro folded through white eggplant, tomato and leeks cooked soft in oil, a mild, gently sweet starchy side for Burundian beans.
Burundian · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 40 min
~406 cal · 7g protein · 73g carbs · 10g fat · 14g fiber · 6g sugars · 1g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Amateke is the Kirundi name for , and also for this everyday way of cooking it. was brought to Burundi toward the end of the 19th century and was quickly taken up by local farmers and cooks.
The is peeled and boiled until it is completely tender, then cooked together with white eggplant, tomatoes and leeks. The result is soft, creamy and faintly sweet, with a flavour that sits somewhere between potato and nuts.
It is a plain, comforting dish that is most often eaten beside ibiharage, the Burundian bean stew, the starchy root and the beans together making a full, simple meal.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
- 1 kg (eddo or )
- 1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 leeks, sliced
- 3 (about 300 g) small white eggplants, cubedHard to find? a purple eggplant, cubed - Slightly more bitter skin and a softer texture, but it cooks the same way.
- 3 medium ripe tomatoes, chopped
- about 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- 1Peel the taro, cut it into 3 cm chunks and rinse well. Cover with fresh water, add 1 tsp of the salt and boil for 20 to 25 minutes until tender all the way through. Drain.✎ Chef’s noteRaw taro can irritate the skin. Wear gloves or oil your hands while peeling, and always cook it fully.
- 2While the taro cooks, heat the oil in a wide pan over medium heat and cook the leeks for 5 minutes until soft.
- 3Add the eggplant and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, then add the tomatoes, the rest of the salt and the water. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes until the eggplant is soft.
- 4Fold in the drained taro and simmer together for 5 minutes, stirring gently, so the taro soaks up the sauce. Serve hot beside beans.
Burundian home tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Bujumbura. Bujumbura sits on Lake Tanganyika, eating beans and plantain daily and grilling fresh lake fish over charcoal. Burundian cooking is starch-and-legume based, with cassava leaves, sweet potato, and groundnut sauces alongside.
🗺️
Burundi. Burundian cooking is simple and plant-forward, beans, plantains, cassava, and sweet potatoes, with the bean stew ibiharage a favorite. In this cattle-keeping culture, milk and communal meals hold deep meaning.
🌍
Africa. Much of what reads as timeless African cooking is younger than the Atlantic crossings. Maize, cassava, groundnut, chilli and tomato all arrived from the Americas after 1500 and pushed older crops aside; millet, sorghum, teff, yam and fonio are the ones that were already here, and the map still shows the join.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Burundi
IbiharageBurundi's fried kidney beans with onion, garlic, and chili, served with plantain or rice.
Ibitoke n'IbiharageBurundi's beans and plantains: red beans and green cooking bananas simmered together with onion and warm spice into a filling plate.
NdagalaTiny silver fish from Lake Tanganyika pan-fried crisp with onion and tomato, a lakeside lunch of Bujumbura.
Browse all Burundi recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Keeps 2 to 3 days refrigerated. Resteam or warm through gently to serve.
Make it a Burundi meal
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Amateke (Burundian Taro with Eggplant and Leeks)?
Tender boiled taro folded through white eggplant, tomato and leeks cooked soft in oil, a mild, gently sweet starchy side for Burundian beans.
Where does Amateke (Burundian Taro with Eggplant and Leeks) come from?
Amateke (Burundian Taro with Eggplant and Leeks) is a Burundian dish from Bujumbura, Burundi.
Can Amateke (Burundian Taro with Eggplant and Leeks) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Amateke (Burundian Taro with Eggplant and Leeks) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Amateke (Burundian Taro with Eggplant and Leeks) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Amateke (Burundian Taro with Eggplant and Leeks) take to make?
About 60 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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