Dinners in Muheza

Dinners


With less than 2 weeks to go ,
And most dinners consumed,
It felt like time to finish this series.

I will not tell you what I(we) miss( the list is not really that long)

Typical Tanzanian diiner items
Ugali ( a corn flour ball) very bland best enjoyed with anything with flavour
The more impoverished the local the less associated dishes
Meat with a saucy gravy tomatoey sometimes spicey( peppers) sauce is typical.
I have had it 3 times.
Boys stopped have school lunches because of it

Beans and rice.
Loads of beans options.
Best eaten with hot sauce.

Mchicha boiled/steamed and then fried bitter greens( generically spinach) usually with onions
The greens seem to be a variety of types depending on what is
available ..Paula was able to imitate the proper preparation and cooking better than I using the ‘Kazan’ technique of cooking bitter greens

cassava, grilled tough corn

meat dishes are either grilled meat ( beef or goat, chicken)
or meat in sauce beef, goat, chicken

being on the coast fish is plentiful
typically small fried bony fish about 3“ or a salted anchovie –like fish, bought dried in the market , served in toamoto sauce ( which I finally tasted last week)
but here on Sundays the fisher come to Muheza and we have fresh fish, steaks ( often called ‘tuna’) of all kinds,small to medium whole fish fried and twice large whole fish baked

but ingredients for musungu cooking musungu food in Tanzania are abundant

veggies – classic
carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes onions, garlic, peppers( green or hot)
occasional eggplant, zuchini, leeks

less classic or familiar
okra
eggplant- like yellow veggies
(eventually pictures will be added)

-pasta, cheese, tomato sauce ,meat sauce
-pizza veggie and meat ( bacon, mince)
-chapattis/paratha frozen or freshly made by juliette go with anything but we also make a taco like rollup with options of ground meat, cheese, onions, cucumbers, peppers, yogurt,
tomatoes
-frittata looking not much different than at home.

at home ( our Canadian home) we have stolen a recipe from Sally and Rose –‘Tuscan Chicken’
roasted splayed whole chicken on a bed of fennel, lemons, olives, garlic cloves, herbs

here we have ‘Muheza Chicken’ –same whole splayed chicken( a bit scrawnier and stringier), definitely free range, tender up well, in a similar roasting pot
on a bed of leeks or onions, green peppers, occasional other roast veggies, garlic cloves, limes, salt and pepper. Served with mashed potatoes made the way my dad taught me (warm the milk before adding)

at home ( that same Canadian place) often on Friday is nachos night at same sally and rose- previously mentioned- ‘s house ( is there another sally and rose really??)
No nachos here
But we have Chips and miyai( eggs) occasionally with sausages added
Chips made by street vendors , picked up at just the right time by Griffin ( and now Sy occesionally joins him) added to whipped egg as it fries
Sausages are lame packaged breakfast sausage( i do miss galloping goose sausages.. OK I said it)

Virtually all is 100 mile diet ( although condiments-hot sauce,pickle/chutney soya sauce , and our one true luxury olive oil do find there way to Tanzania and our table)

Salad is either tomato/cucumber/avocado( 10-20 cents each)
Or “Deb’s “ salad ( yes our dear friend deb lefrank) purple onion, mango( less than 10 cents each),lime and tomato… colourful and deelish

SO what is missing
You got it
Dessert, treats, postres, sweeties,kitindamlo


Fresh fruit ( often pineapple or banana -which I have eaten more of than in the last 10 years) can go only so far

We do miss sweets although cookies can be bought and a local dryish and less sweet cake is available and enjoyed - it ain’t Flan, chocolate mouse, chocolate anything

If Susan Griffith is reading this she might think about this as she hosts us in Cambridge in less than 2 weeks
No late night ice cream for me ( although last week while visiting friends in Arusha before our safari-lots of chicken, lots of rice- we were treated to PISTACHIO ICE CREAM…. MY FAVOURITE FLAVOUR)

Wine has been less than 5 glasses in 5.5 months although we did try a Tanzanian Rose ( once). Cold lagers work fine , the colder the better
Lots of water

And as I wrap up this final installment and we wrap up our final days here I will go have a small nip(60.2 % alcohol) of a’bunadh speyide single malt . brought by joel already a month ago.
cheers