Kishumba (Green Plantains & Beans) Tanzania

This is banana and beans meal originated from Northeastern region in Tanzania.

Ingredients
Banana (green plantain)
Beans
Salt to taste
extra-virgin oil 
Bicarbonate of sod or Accent flavor enhancer 
Pumpkin (option)

Directions:

Half Cake (Tanzanian little cakes) Half Keki

Picture credits to http://www.cs.odu.edu/~wild/africa/recipes/recipes12.htm...

Ingredients
4 cups - All purpose flour
1/2 tbsp - Baking powder
1/2 tbsp - Baking soda
1/8 tbsp  - Salt
1 cup - Sugar
1 cup  - water (milk option)
1/4 cup - Vegetable oil 
2 cups - Vegetable oil for frying

Thanks Giving Special - Pilau Stuffing for Turkey

Best one I ever created.

With cinnamon and allspice, this Pilau stuffing reflects the customary flavors of Thanksgiving, but it's actually based on a very traditional Tanzania pilau. Serve the pilau as a side dish or use it as a stuffing, where the warm spices add flavor to the turkey as it cooks.


Note: Try to use real turkey stock, broth in this recipe or
use some cut up turkey legs or wings (I used  some stuffs that they leave inside the turkey and a can of turkey broth) with some carrot, leek tops or onion, celery and simmer on very low for about an hour.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups uncooked basmati rice (or long grain rice)
• Pilau masala
• 3 cups turkey stock 
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 cup golden raisins (option)
• 1 cup cashew nuts (option)
• 1 Big Onion
• 1 Big garlic onion (about 10 cloves)
• Vegetable oil

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Directions

1. Rinse the rice several times until the water runs clear. Drain in a colander.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a heavy skillet (10-inch or similar size). Stir in the onion and fry until golden brown.
3. Stir in Pilau masala.
4. Add garlic onion and stir for few more minutes. Make sure you do not burn the mixture.
5. Add the turkey stock and bring to boil.
6. Add the rice and reduce the heat, stir occasionally until the water dries.  
7. Take half of the pilau and stuff in you turkey. After stuffing remember to sew it. Tying it up with twine will easily cook the bird more evenly. 
8. Cover the rest of the pilau with a foil paper. If the skillet you use to cooked your pilau is not oven safe then place it in a baking dish or casserole. 
9. Bake the pilau and the turkey in a preheat oven around (325 degree F). 
10. In one hour remove the pilau and continue to bake the turkey as per your instruction.             

Add the turkey broth when you make a stock for pilau...

 

I forgot to take a picture of the turkey after I sew in ...... 

 

This is how it looks after baked for 31/2 hours in 325 degree F

 

This is the rest of the pilau that I kept baked for one hour.....

 

I didn't marinate the turkey but the pilau gave the meat an all-over flavor.

Ugali Recipe (Sima) Tanzania

Ugali is a meal that eaten with various of soups, stews or custard milk. In Tanzania Ugali is made from corn meal, banana, semolina or cassava flour. The Ugali consistency differs from region to region. The consistency varies from porridge to a dough-like substance.
 

Kalimati Mandazi ya Maji

Tanzanian Buns (Mandazi Style 1) Made with Baking Powder

Ingredients
1 egg

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk
4 Tbsp. margarine, melted
3 cups white flour
2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt 
Oil (for frying)

Directions

• Bring all ingredients to room temperature before mixing them together.   

Tanzanian Buns - Mahamri (Mandazi Style 2) Made with Yeast

Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp. margarine, melted
3 cups white flour
2 tsp. yeast
1/2 to 1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt

Direction

• Bring all ingredients to room temperature before mixing them together.   
• Mix all ingredients in a bowl and kneel it until you form a dough.
• Add more water or flour if necessary but you need to have a dough like a bread dough texture. Soft but not too sticky. 
• Cover the bowl and keep it in a warm place until double the size.
  Roll the dough on a lightly floured board until it is about 1/4 inch think. 
• Cut into the shape you like and fry in hot oil. 
• Fry until both sides are golden brown. 
• Remove Mandazi from oil and drain on paper towels 

Tanzanian Meat Pie

Coconut Kashata Somali - style

Ingredients
1 cup - Milk
2 cups - Sugar
2 cups - fresh or moist grated coconut (or dried grated coconut moistened with a few tablespoons of milk or water)
1 tsp - mint extract

Direction
In a hot skillet add milk and let it boil.
Then add sugar
Let it boil for about 8 to ten minutes and stir occasion so the milk won't boil over. 
Add shredded coconut and

Easy Foil Baked Trout with Broccoli

Ingredients:
4 6-oz. trout fillets
Broccoli
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Olive oil 
Sat and black pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400° F. 
Clean and rinse the fish and lightly sprinkle with salt and black pepper. 
Mix together with lemon juice. 
Place each fillet and few broccoli buds on a piece of aluminum foil, pour 1/4 of the olive oil over each, and carefully seal them into an envelope of foil. 
Bake for 20 minutes, unwrap and serve.

Seafood Soup (Supu ya mchanganyiko wa samaki za baharini)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large shallot, thinly sliced

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 1/2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth

1 cup bottled clam juice

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, plus more for serving

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

  1 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed 

1 dozen hard crabs, cleaned

3/4 pound skinless snapper fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces

1/2 pound medium shrimp

Mango Potato Cucumber Salad (Salad ya Maembe, Matango na Viazi Mviringo)

Ingredients


5-6 potatoes, boiled
2 firm mangoes 
1/4 cup Orange juice 
2 tbsp Fresh lemon juice
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded
2 cucumbers
1/2 green Bell pepper, seeded
2 tbsp minced Ginger
1/4 cup chopped Mint
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Easy Hummus Recipe (Kotoweo cha Dengu)

A friend of mine (Jewish) one day invited me over for dinner at his mother's house. His mother served a homemade hummus and I loved it. I have been using hummus for quite sometime now in replace of dips and butter but the homemade one was just so delicious so I decided to learn how to make it from scratch by myself too. I found out the secret is the order in which you add ingredients to your food processor and  for extra smooth hummus is to remove the skins of each chickpea.

Hummus is a Middle Eastern and Arabic food dip or spread. The hummus acts as both the protein and the condiment. I love hummus on cucumber slices, in fact, it's great on anything green.

Makande (Corn and Bean Meal)

This is a tradition meal in Pare region (Northern East of Tanzania). Can be served with meat, fish, avocados or simply a salad.

Ingredients
8 oz beans  - soaked overnight
8 oz white corn - soaked overnight

1 Tbs butter or vegetable oil
Coconut milk (option)
Water
Salt and pepper  - to taste


Directions

1. Place corns in a pot (heavy pot or if you have a clay cooking pot is even better (Chungu)). Cover and boil rapidly for 30 to 45 minutes. Longer if you didn't soak overnight. 

Kuku wa Kuoka, Viazi Mviringo na Pili Pili Hoho (Broiled Chicken, Potatoes and Green Peppers)

Ingredients

8 small skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs 
1 heaping tablespoon dried oregano

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
6 cloves garlic, smashed
4 to 6 pickled cherry peppers, seeded and sliced, plus 1/3 cup brine
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley 
1 russet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt 
Freshly ground pepper 

Ndizi Mbivu za Kuchemsha na Mchuzi wa Nyama (Ripe Boiled Plantains with Meat Stew)

One day I went to a party that was hosted by one of my Nigerian friends. I ate this food and liked it so much when I asked them what was that they told me it was Boiled Plantains. I didn't ask much how they cooked it because I thought to myself what could go wrong when you just boiling ripe plantains right? Wrong....The fisrt time I tried to make this food it came out like a baby food.....Then I found the secret was not to peel off skin until plantains are done cooking. 

Kitawa (Plantain and Custard "Fermented" Milk) Ndizi na Maziwa ya Mgando

This food originate from north eastern part of Tanzania (Kilimanjaro region ) in Chagga tribe. It was made by elders (mothers or mother in laws) for their newly young mothers. It 's one the foods in the region that claimed to help the body to produce more breast milk. 

Ingredients
4 = Green plantains
3 cups  = Custard milk if you don't have that you can use (equal parts of sour cream and 

Kuku wa kuchoma na Jiko la Mkaa (Charcoal Grill Chicken With Sautee Onion and Red Peppers)

Ingredients
2 red bell peppers
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for liberal drizzling
2 medium sweet onions, sliced into wedges, root end attached
1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced, fennel fronds reserved for garnish
3 to 4 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
12 small bone-in chicken thighs
Fennel pollen or ground fennel, for sprinkling
1 lemon, zested and juiced

Kuku wa Kupika Kwenye Oven na Asparagus (Oven Roasted Chicken and Asparagus)

Here is another way to spice up that everyday chicken dish. You’re sure to be a star in the kitchen with this simple dish. 
Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 4 chicken thighs and legs
• 2-4 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 bunch rosemary
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• asparagus
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• Avocado (option)

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Warm the garlic, rosemary and olive oil together in a small pan to blend the flavors, about 3-5 minutes. Cool the oil and add the lemon juice. Dip the chicken thighs and legs in the olive oil and garlic mixture.
Place in a shallow baking dish or tray and

Samaki wa Kupika Kwa Mvuke Kwenye Oven (Oven-Steamed Salmon With Mushrooms)

Ingredient
4 Salmon fillets - Serving 4

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive
1 pound white or portobello mushrooms, rinsed briefly, wiped dry  and sliced
1-3 tablespoons thyme chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Sauce ya Nanasi (Pineapple Sauce)

The picture's recipe is without the cornstarch

The pineapple sauce that's sensational whether served warm or cold. It's delicious drizzled over ice cream for a simple dessert, or try it with ham for a dressed-up dinner. 

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 Ingredients 
1 small pineapple (diced and crushed) or One 20-ounce can crushed pineapple 
1/2 cup sugar 
1 tablespoon cornstarch (option) 
2 teaspoons butter 
1 teaspoon white vinegar 
Pinch salt 






Direction 

Melt the butter and sugar in a medium skillet over medium heat. 

Stir until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. 
Increase the heat to high. Add the pineapple, cornstarch and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and coated in caramel, about 5 minutes. 
Remove from the heat; stir in vinegar and salt. 

Serve hot or cold and you can keep it in a tight container and store in a refrigerator for up to 30 days

Kababu za Kuku (Chicken Kababu)

Ingredients:
1Ib breast chicken (ground Turkey)
7 tbsp breadcrumbs
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 egg
1 tsp red chilli flakes (option)
1 large potato (peeled, boiled and mashed)
1 tbsp garlic/ginger paste
Salt to taste
Coriander
Oil for frying

Direction:
Mince your chicken using food processor or meet grinder. Put the chicken in a frying pan with a little bit of oil, salt, black pepper (ground), red chilli flakes (option)  and some lemon juice.

Cook the chicken, constantly stirring it until there’s no liquid left. Remove from heat and let it cool.

Put the cooled chicken in a mixing bowl.

Next add all the ingredients except the oil for frying and mix well.

Then place the mixture in the fridge for at least half an hour.

After half an hour, remove from the fridge and taste for salt.

Shape them into kebabs and deep fry them in hot oil.

Since the oil is hot, keep an eye on the kebabs not to burn.

Serve them with lemon wedges or chutneys.
Enjoy!!!