East Africa · Soup
Supu y'Ibitoki (Green Banana and Bone Broth)
A deeply restorative Rwandan bone broth simmered with tender green cooking bananas, aromatic root vegetables, and fragrant herbs.
The story
Originating in the verdant highlands of Northern and Western Rwanda, this hearty soup is cherished across rural communities as the premier restorative meal for recovering mothers, manual laborers, and morning revellers. Traditionally simmered in clay pots (inono) over wood fires, it showcases ibitoki—unripe highland cooking bananas prized for their high starch and low sugar content. A lesser-known culinary secret is oiling your hands and knife before peeling ibitoki to prevent the sticky, astringent sap from staining skin and oxidising the fruit before it hits the broth.
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