Traditional Tanzanian Cuisine
Swahili Cuisine by:Ian Williamson

What food should you expect to find whilst on vacation in Tanzania? Hotels and restaurants provide a wide range of foods from all over the world,as a tourist you will not want for choice.

A good hotel/camp will also offer local dishes for the tourist. Tanzanian is not famed for its cuisine but having said that the coastal regions and the Spice Islands of Zanzibar offer some very good food indeed.

Chips Mayai [pronounced Chips-my-eye] I was told in Dar es Salaam egg and chips is a national dish. However,I discovered it was not the two fried eggs sunny side up and a portion of chips that I expected. A hot shallow frying pan loaded with cooked chips is heated and then two beaten eggs are added to the chips to make an omelet - you can at extra cost have a three egg version. The dish is served with,salt,Katchubari [see bellow] and tomato ketchup. You will notice that most of the eggs have a very pale yolk. I always ask for kinjigi eggs [village eggs] which are free range and have very yellow yolks and taste so much better. The kinjigi eggs are smaller and more expensive and not always available. This dish is a particular safe favorite of mine when traveling and options are limited.

Katchubari:comes in various forms but for me it is a salad of sliced tomato and onion [sometimes cucumber may be added] with lime juice,fresh coriander and a little crushed bell pepper to give it a kick. These bell peppers are called pilipili mbuzi which is translated by me as 'goat pepper'.

Chapatti:outside Tanzania called a roti:A favorite with milky coffee or spiced tea for breakfast - A hotel north of Dar es Salaam [Kunduchi] there is a small hotel that makes a wonderfully flaky chapatti that is stuffed with tuna that has been lightly and magically spiced with local garlic and ginger. Pure heaven.

The Indian influence in none so evident that with the spiced tea:-
Chai Tangaweizi:This drink is made by boiling milk,tea leaves and ginger in a pan. Give it a try it is very good and is best sweetened;other spices that may be used are black cardamom,cinnamon,black pepper and of course Zanzibar cloves.
Black tea is great in the hot afternoons when infused with local spices,black pepper or lemon grass.

Samaki Wakupaka:Coconut milk is used in many dishes and a particular good example is this dish. This is pan fried fish coated in coconut milk and spiced with garlic and ginger - this is a coastal or Zanzibar dish. A variation is Kuku wakupaka which is chicken cooked in the same way. A warning I have had Kuku wakupaka served as a stew and very disappointing it was too - wakupaka means to coat or to paint - in this case coat with coconut milk.

Marahagwe:dried beans [of which there is a bewildering variety] boiled for hours in a tomato sauce. Tastes very nice especially when a little peanut flour is added during cooking.

Matoki:green unripe bananas. There are many varieties of bananas;in fact north of Arusha town there is an area which boasts over thirty varieties of banana!The Matoki variety comes from Uganda and can be served whole or traditionally mashed with peanut;in my opinion the best variety of green banana although not so popular in Northern Tanzania.

Ugali:a dish with many names throughout East and Southern Africa. This is maze flour cooked with water into a stiff porridge. This is astaple diet for many Tanzanian's. It is eaten with your right hand and squashed into a ball and eaten. If there is a sauce with the food make a ball of Ugali and push your thumb into the center of the ball to form a 'spoon' with which you can scoop up your food.

Mchicha: this is a local spinach. Some of the local varieties of spinach requires a little longer to cook that the western varieties. They all have an excellent taste from the very bitter to sublimely sweet. Mchicha is probably the most popular spinach and has small oval leaves and thin stems very good with Ugali. With Mchicha being considered the best of the local spinach when someone is looking especially nice the expression Mchicha lets them know how nice you think they look - use this expression sparingly!

Most hotels are now serving a selection of western and traditional Tanzanian dishes. However, if you find yourself on the coast or in Zanzibar - speak to the local people, or a friendly waiter in the hotel and see where they recommend to eat. The Old Fort & Cultural Center in Zanzibar has a good enthusiastic - if not a little sleepy - Tourist Information office that can help. In Arusha Town on Boma Street the best tourist information office ever will be able to help you. In Dar the office is on Samora Avenue but don't waste your time - I am afraid you're on your own in Dar as far as Tourist information offices go - better to ask for help in your hotel. Tanga also a great Tourist information Office but very,very hard to find - I spent three hours looking for in June 2010 even the locals and the Taxi drivers were at a loss to its location - not sure what i found was an official Tourist Information office although the friendly manner of staff and the quality information received was very helpful indeed!

Enjoy your time in Tanzania and try the food it really is good!