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Chips-my-eye [Swahili = Chips mayai] is a traditional dish
here in Tanzania. It is egg and chips – but not your traditional
two fried eggs and a side order of chips – no – it is a chip omelet. Other
traditional dishes you may come across in Tanzania
are…
When on safari in Tanzania,
or climbing Kilimanjaro or simply relaxing on the tropical coast or Zanzibar
Island what is the local food
like? Bellow are a few of the local
dishes you may find.
Chips-my-eye [Chips ] is a traditional dish here in Tanzania. It is egg and chips – but not your north of England
two fried eggs and a side order of chips – no – it is a chip omelet. Chips are placed into a shallow frying pan
and then as they sizzle away two beaten eggs are pored over the top, this is then
cooked into a solid omelet stuffed with chips and very nice it is too. It is not so healthy but give it a try when
you visit Tanzania
it is nicer than it sounds.
Katchubari: a
traditional salad sliced tomato and onion [sometimes cabbage or cucumber may be
added] with lime juice and a little crushed bell pepper to give it a kick. The bell peppers are called pilipili mbuzi in
Swahili, which is a translated goat pepper.
Japati: or elsewhere roti. These are eaten with coffee or tea for
breakfast and sometimes they accompany main meals. Tanzanian cooking can unadventurous and not
very appealing to a westerner but luckily, over the last few centuries the
Indian influence [especially on the Swahili coast] has introduced some
wonderful dishes. There is a place on
the north coast of Dar es Salaam that
makes a wonderful Japati stuffed with fresh tuna and a little green pepper and
spiced with local garlic and fresh ginger.
Chai tangaweizi: This
is a milky tea spiced with ginger the milk, ginger and local tea leaves being
boiled together in one pan. Give it a
try it is very good and is best sweetened.
There are many variations of spiced tea, as spices are readily available
and not expensive thanks to Zanzibar
and Pemba Islands. Black tea is great in the hot afternoons when
spiced with local spices or lemon grass.
Samaki wakupaka: One of many dishes using coconut milk. This is fish coated in coconut milk – this is
a coastal or Zanzibarian dish. Also Kuku
wakupaka which is chicken coated in coconut sauce
Marahagwe: dried
beans boiled in a tomato sauce. Tastes
very nice when coconut milk is added during cooking. Many dishes add coconut milk or peanut flour
to make the food taste richer.
Matoki: or green cooking
bananas or plantain. There are many
varieties of bananas in fact north of Arusha town there is a cultural walk,
which winds through several banana plantations with over thirty varieties of
banana! The Matoki
variety comes from Uganda
and is often served mashed. It is softer
and more yellow than most variants. In
my opinion also the best.
Ugali: this has many names throughout Africa
and here in East Africa it is Ugali. This is maze flour cooked
with water into a
stiff porridge – a little thicker than mashed potatoes. This is
staple diet for many Tanzanian’s. It is eaten with your right
hand and squashed
into a ball and then eaten with food [Especially nice with Mchicha –
see bellow]
with foods cooked in a sauce once you have your ball of Ugali the thumb
is
pushed into the center of the ball to form a spoon with which you can
scoop up
your food.
Mchicha: this is a local spinach there are many many verities
of spinach available in Tanzania. Some of them require a little longer to cook
that the western varieties but they all have an excellent taste from the very bitter
to sweet. Mchicha is one of the most popular spinaches and has small oval
leaves and thin stems very good with Ugali.
Most hotels are now serving a selection of traditional dishes. However, if you find yourself on the coast or
in Zanzibar – speak to the local
people and see where they eat. Even in
the towns, there are excellent restaurants that serve the local as well as
international foods.
We are a non-profit organization using tourism to change
lives http://www.betheladventure.co.uk we build schools and create self help groups
to assist with the sick. This can be
done because of tourism. You just have
to enjoy the safari and know that you are also helping to save and improve
lives in Tanzania
– East Africa.
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