Traditional meals to try in Tanzania
Tanzania is one of the top tourism earners in Africa, thanks in part to its plethora of interesting tourist attractions. None are more impressive than Mountain Kilimanjaro. With an elevation of 5,895 meters (19,340 ft) above sea level, it’s the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world.
Tanzania boasts over 21 national parks, including Serengeti National Park which is home to the world’s greatest wildebeest migration. Every year, over two million fauna migrate from Tanzania and cross the border into neighboring Kenya.
Mount Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti are two of the biggest reasons why tourists flock to Tanzania, but one reason that shouldn’t be overlooked is the food. If you enjoy experiencing different cultures through its food, then check out these fifteen traditional Tanzanian dishes on your next trip to East Africa.
If you’re planning a trip to Tanzania and want to really dive into the cuisine, then you may be interested in going on a food tour.
Traditional food
Tanzanian cuisine is diverse. The types of ingredients used and preparation methods vary greatly from region to region. Spicy foods are common and ingredients like ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and coconut milk are used in many dishes.
Rice and ugali are staple foods while okra, spinach, beans, and cassava leaves are commonly used vegetables. At least seventeen varieties of plantains are known to grow in Tanzania. They’re typically fried into chips or used as an ingredient in various soups and stews.
Thanks to the Indian diaspora, Tanzanian food has been significantly influenced by Indian cuisine. Chapati and samosas are common and you’ll find many Indianowned restaurants in Tanzania, mostly in Dar es Salaam.
I’m not a trained chef but my experience living in a village with my grandparents has given me a lot of first-hand experience on how traditional Tanzanian dishes are prepared. I’ll describe some of the most popular dishes in Tanzanian cuisine and talk briefly about how to make them. One day, maybe you can try making them yourself from the comfort of your own home.
Ugali
This is the most commonly eaten food in Tanzania. Ugali is a Tanzanian national dish and something that the average person eats about four times a week. It’s an affordable dish that can be found on the menu of every local restaurant. In schools, particularly in public schools, it’s eaten almost every day of the week with beans, vegetables, soup, dagaa, and other types of fish.
Ugali is considered a high-energy food and is consumed by many people who do labor-intensive work like farming, construction, fishing, and factory work. Even office workers eat it too. In some tribes of Tanzania, like the Sukuma, ugali is regarded as men’s food and is often eaten for breakfast.
Ugali is prepared by mixing flour with hot water to achieve a stiff consistency. It’s most commonly made with maize, followed by cassava, sorghum, and then millet. However, it’s common to mix two or more flours like maize and millet or maize and sorghum to enhance its flavor and increase its nutritional value.
Wali wa Nazi
Rice is a staple dish in Tanzania and one of the most delicious iterations is wali wa nazi. It refers to a fragrant rice dish cooked in coconut milk and water and seasoned simply with salt. In a sense, you can think of it as the East African version of Malaysian nasi lemak.
Wali wa nazi is served as an accompaniment to various curries and stews and is equally popular in the cuisines of neighboring countries like Kenya and Uganda.
Wali na Maharage
This beloved rice and beans dish is commonly eaten for dinner in Tanzania. It’s frequently prepared over the holidays and for social events like weddings, religious festivals, and funerals.
Traditionally, wali maharage is made by cooking the beans first and then adding them to the rice to cook together. It’s typically seasoned with just salt and oil.
Modern versions of wali maharage are made by cooking the rice and beans separately. The beans are roasted with oil, onions, carrots, green peppers, tomatoes, and a host of different spices. When ready, the rice is served on a plate while the beans are served separately in a bowl. Wali maharage is eaten with a spoon.
Sukuma Wiki
One dish that’s often paired with ugali is sukuma wiki. It refers to a popular East African dish made with sukuma. Sukuma is Swahili for colewort or collared greens, a type of leafy vegetable similar to kale.
Other than colewort, other ingredients used to make sukuma wiki include tomatoes, onions, and various spices like cumin, coriander, and saffron powder. Like ugali, it’s an affordable dish that’s consumed throughout the year. In fact, the name sukuma wiki literally translates to “push the week” or “stretch the week” in reference to its affordability and availability.
Irio
Irio is a dish native to the Kikuyu tribe of Tanzania and central Kenya. It’s a healthy and comforting dish made with mashed potatoes, corn, peas, and greens like watercress or spinach. Meaning “food” in the Kikuyu language, irio is typically served as a side dish and is equally popular in the cuisines of Kenya and Uganda.
Mchuzi wa Biringani
If you don’t have a lot of time, then mchuzi wa biringani is one of the quickest and easiest Tanzanian foods you can make. It consists mainly of eggplant sliced into small pieces and then fried in oil.
Other ingredients used to make mchuzi wa biringani include tomatoes, onions, carrots, garlic, and ginger. Sometimes, chefs may add potatoes as a thickening agent. Dairy or coconut milk can also be added to enhance the flavor and further thicken the broth.
Ndizi
Ndizi literally means “banana” in Swahili. It refers to plantains, which is a traditional Tanzanian food preferred mostly by the Chagga tribe in the northern part of the country. It’s also popular among the Wasukuma, Wahaya, and Wakurya tribes of the Lake Zone regions.
The reason for its popularity in those aforementioned regions is its availability – those are the best growing regions for plantains in Tanzania. Ndizi is available in other parts of the country as well, but usually at a steeper price due to transportation costs. — willflyforfood.