Cooking Lessons!

A little insight into the favorite cultural dishes of Tanzania: fried carbs

Unanimously, the favorite foods here are chapati, mandazi, and chai tea. I have really become addicted to all three, and morning or afternoon activities are halted anytime word gets around that chapatis or mandazis are freshly made. Fresh chai from the little chai house at COH is perfect in the mornings when it is still cool out, and the fact that we all have a running tab at the chai house is a problem. However, the conversion rate for dollars to shillings means that my 2 months of frequent chai, chapatis, and mandazis is going to come in at a whopping $3. While chai and chapatis originated in India, they have been a part of the culture of east Africa for a long time.

Mary, Alice, and I decided that we need to learn how to make chapatis and mandazis before we leave Tanzania, so we set up some lessons this week. On Sunday, we watched 2 of the older girls make mandazi. We missed the dough making part of the process, but it sounds like the main ingredients are flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and maybe baking powder. The girls had already prepared a big container of dough, so we watched them roll it out on a table, cut it into strips, and heat up oil and fry everything up!

They are so good, especially fresh from the oil. So healthy, too! Then we decided to fill a few with cinnamon sugar before frying them… even better. Mandazis are the best dessert, given that there is no chocolate cake readily available here.

Yesterday we helped roll out some chapatis for dinner. Given the time it takes to make them and the work involved, we haven’t had them for dinner too often. However, there was a birthday yesterday so lots of chapati was made! Again, we missed the dough making process, but I am pretty sure it is mostly flour, water, salt, oil, and a pinch of sugar. They are rolled into thin circles, brushed with oil, rolled into logs and twisted into circles, and then rolled back out into thin circles before being brushed with oil and cooked on a small pan. They are chewier and flakier than regular tortillas, and taste good with anything or by themselves.

Mary, Alice, and I are looking forward to attempting to recreate these recipes at home. I’m sure they won’t be as good as they are here, but they have definitely become our favorite Tanzanian specialties.