What do you eat during a trip to Tanzania?
The variety of food (chakula) is not lacking, even if the population feeds on simple foods.
In the lodges, an international menu is normally served but it is interesting to know the eating habits of a country that is discovered.
Most people eat a single dish with cooked white rice (wali) or white corn polenta (ugali), slightly bitter cooked vegetables (mbogamboga), cooked beans (maharage), grilled or stewed fish (samaki) coming from the big lakes if you're inland, roast chicken (kuku). Other common foods are fries (cypsis) often combined with grilled chicken, omelette (cipsimayai ...) often served cooked with fries. We also find raw vegetables such as cabbage (cabici), tomatoes (gnagna) and carrots (carrots) but if you are not a traveler more than accustomed we advise against raw food unless you have washed it yourself with bottled water. In the markets you will also find sun-dried baby fishes, they are cooked and eaten with polenta.
Graze in the savannah
A particular chapter is dedicated to beef meat (nyamachoma) (grilled meat). In Tanzania most of the tribes breed cattle and goats (mbuzi) carrying them to graze in the savannah. The beasts have lived almost in freedom and the taste of their meat is something special! It is slaughtered daily, using bleeding. There are no fridges in most of the country, so the meat that will be presented to you will be fresh. It is served very cooked (avoid absolutely undercooked meat) in a pot or roasted over a fire.
Almost impossible to find pork and derivatives.
If you are on the coast or on the islands, we advise you to take advantage of the excellent sea fish.
The spice island
On the continent the foods are not spicy while on the coast and on the islands they are very, especially in Indian restaurants, which are very numerous. If you love chili (pili pili) you will find it really strong.
Zanzibar is the island of spices, you can taste it in all shapes and buy in many stalls (where quality is not always guaranteed).
At breakfast we eat a fantastic chapati (our piadina) with a very sweetened tea, or some delicious sweet donuts (mandazi). These two foods are cooked in the morning so it is not recommended to eat them at other times of the day because it means they are cooked for a few hours. The consumption of scrambled eggs (mayai) is also common for breakfast. Do not be afraid if the egg was very clear, they are all like that.
The dairy products forget them. Pay attention to the butter.
The fruit of Paradise
But if you love fruit it could be a paradise, even if it depends on the periods: bananas (ndizi), the very good pink ones you will find only in MtowaMbu near the parks of the North, the mango (embe), of various sizes, the papaya (papai) , oranges (chungwa), watermelon (tikitimaji), avocado (parachichi), cirimoia (tope tope) absolutely not to be missed. To be tasted also the fenesi a fruit as big as a watermelon that grows attached to trees with indescribable taste: you find it on the coast in stalls along the road already washed because it has a very sticky sap. Recognize who sells it to you because you are wearing disposable gloves. You will also find the green coconut to drink or eat (mnaziwamajinachakula) and coconut just to eat. If you are very hot on the coast try the green coconut water, it is a formidable supplement.
We also recommend tasting coffee (kahawa) and tea (chai) grown in Tanzania, they seem to be of excellent quality. If instead you are used to wine you will have to resign yourself to imported and expensive products. In Tanzania only the wine used in the Christian mass is cultivated (and it is not much).
Drink or not drink?
Drink only packaged drinks, water (maji) or drinks (there is one with very good ginger!) But if you really have to take a risk, do it for the sugarcane juice (fantastic). The sparkling water is called soda water.
Sugar cane (juiceyamua) is also whole, you can clean it and chew its sweetest fibers.
If you are used to organic food (as the undersigned), the only wisdom to keep is with chicken, eggs and corn, maybe avoid them.
