The Surprising Recipes of Tanzania

Tanzania is a very diverse East African country, formed by the union of Tanganyika on the mainland with the island of Zanzibar. Tanganyika united with Zanzibar in 1964, forming the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which later the same year was renamed the United Republic of Tanzania.

It is a Swahili country and like many East African nations shows strong Indian and Arabic influences in its cuisine. Thus curries and pilaus are common as are flavouring more typically associated with North Africa.

Fish is an important part of the diet, both on the island of Zanzibar (as might be expected) but also on the mainland with its sea cost on one side and the African Great Lakes on the other.

The cuisine of Zanzibar is probably the most familiar and the most diverse and, unusually, for many African countries the island has a strong tradition of dessert and pastry making.

The following are two typical Tanzanian recipes for you to make yourselves:

Baked Chicken in Groundnut Sauce

Ingredients:
3 tbsp groundnut oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp hot chilli powder
200ml smooth peanut butter

250ml coconut milk
1.5kg chicken pieces

4 tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp salt
300g okra, topped

Method:
Heat the oil in a large frying pan or skillet and brown the chicken pieces on all sides. Remove the chicken and arrange in a single layer on a baking dish (do not stack) [an oven-proof casserole or Dutch oven works well].

Now drain all but 2 tbsp of the oil and use this remainder to fry the onion, tomatoes, and green pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the onions are soft and the tomato has broken down into a sauce. Add the herbs, spices and salt. Mix to combine then pour the sauce over the chicken.

Mix together the coconut milk and peanut butter until smooth then pour over the chicken. Scatter the okra over the top, cover the dish and place in an oven pre-heated to 180°C. Bake for 45 minutes then remove the cover and bake for a further 15 minutes (you can add a little stok or water during this final cooking period if you would like more sauce).
Serve immediately on a bed of rice.


Baked Green Bananas in Orange Syrup

Ingredients
120ml orange juice

2 green, not quite ripe, bananas

80g light brown sugar

pinch of ground cardamom

3 tbsp lemon juice

Method:
Combine the orange juice, sugar and cardamon in a small pan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, peel the bananas and cut in half lengthways. Cut each half in half crossways so that you have four pieces. Place in a gratin or earthenware dish with cut sides up and brush with the lemon juice.

Pour the orange syrup over the bananas and place in an oven pre-heated to 170°C, baking for 10 miutes. Spoon the syrup over the bananas and serve immediately.

I hope that these recipes have given you a taste for Tanzanian (and East African) cookery and that you are now eager to find out more about this exciting cuisine...

About the Author

Dyfed Lloyd Evans is the creator of the Cetnet African Recipes site and you can find many more Tanzanian Recipes in at the East African Recipes section of this site. The site also supports the refugees of Liberia displaced to Senegal.