Cooking School

Happy Thanksgiving from Tanzania,

One thing I have wanted to do before we leave, is learn about how to cook some of the common East African foods that we have been fed in the time we have been here, but I have no idea how to make. Some of the great skills we have acquired:

Caleb has learned to crack a coconut with a rock and grate it using a coconut chair. Granted, he is not nearly and fast or efficient with the coconut as Miriam (our housekeeper) or Grace (Petit’s housekeeper), but he is much better than any of the rest of us Wazunga’s (white people).

Mandazi  Grace has made mandazi for us a couple times. These are basically donuts made with white bread and fried in oil on the stove. What’s not to like? You will see women with their little kerosene stoves sitting on the edge of the road cooking mandazi in special pans that remind me of an egg poacher and selling them right there in the street. I wonder if that would pass food safety inspections in the US?

 

Caleb and Tobie enjoying Grace's mandazi-ohhhh hot!

Chapati Today was the day for Chapati. Miriam had volunteered to show me how to make this East African Flat bread. It is mostly flour and oil, with a little salt and sugar thrown in.  From what I can tell, it is pretty similar to a tortilla-except a lot more oil.

It was fun to cook with Miriam and learn from her. She was telling me about how her son Abraham knows how to make Chapati and can make beans, ugali and eggs and has supper ready for her when she comes home. I told this to Caleb and he told me to not get any ideas. I am not sure how much she understood, but we did have the universal language of two mother’s laughing together.

Next up is Dale’s favorite-Samosa’s. These are little deep fried triangles containing meat and maybe a few veggies for flavor.

 

Miriam teaching Annica to roll Chapati

 

 

Check out the knife Miriam gave Tobie!!

 

As for Thankgiving: We will be trying to have Thanksgiving, American style with only Tanzanian ingredients.
So-the rolls are made (thanks Grace), two apple pies are made (thanks to Sharon the expert  apple peeler) and Tobie the champion eater. No wonder he is never hungry by the time the meal rolls around he has grazed his way through the kitchen. The chickens are in the fridge thawing. Hopefully all goes well (and by that I mean that we have electricity so it can all be done approximately the same time.)  I asked what was important to each person. For Dale, I couldn’t find all (read-most) of the ingredients needed for corn pudding. So he will have to wait for Christmas to get it. Caleb loves stuffing, and he is please that I can’t find anything resembling celery since he picks it out of the stuffing anyway. Noel wanted pickes, we are hoping Mango pickles will suffice.

Carrie