By Inara Sim
The temperature is soaring in the small concrete house. Crouched on the concrete floor, with her head bent over the steaming pot on the charcoal brazier, Riziki spoons some boiling liquid into her palm and licks it to taste. She grabs the container of salt and throws another pinch into the pot.
Learning to cook a traditional meal in Zanzibar offers a true culinary adventure—no surprise for a place nicknamed the ‘Spice Islands’. Although its history lies in a fusion of distinct culinary tradition - Indian, Arabian and African - Swahili cooking has a distinct identity in its own right. And what better way to get to know a culture than to see how their food is prepared first hand.
When prepared by the hands of the Zanzibar Serena Inn’s chefs, Swahili cuisine is divine. A cooking lesson at the Serena Inn is like a lesson in poetry. You soon learn that until your learn the language of spices, your meal is probably going to taste like baby food. Spices are chosen for their characteristic essences and combined perfectly into an eclectic spice masala. These masalas, which are featured in Asian and Middle-Eastern food, are what make Swahili cuisine come alive and nobody handles them better than the Serena Kitchen. Having already received worldwide recognition for their catering standards, the Serena Inn has opened its kitchen doors, offering to immerse bland palates in spice and learn the secrets of their five-star Swahili cuisine. Cooking lessons can also be arranged on the sandbanks
for those who wish to stir-the-pot beside the fisherman’s dhows.
Though enthusiastic to start by making elaborate curries, we observe that even a simple sambusa (a spiced vegetable and meat filled pastry) requires care and an understanding of the spices in relation to one another.
We met up with Timbe at Paradise Beach Bungalows, collecting our daily catch from local fisherman on the way before being escorted to Paje village and into the home of Riziki. This is where we are spending the next 4 hours learning how to cook a traditional Swahili meal, using fresh local produce and Zanzibari spices.
We’re welcomed into Riziki’s home with broad grins and inquisitive looks from her children. The house is modest; 4 basic rooms with concrete floors in each and 3 little stools to sit on. The kitchen has one cupboard, 2 charcoal braziers and a few utensils hanging on the wall. No electricity means there are no luxury items such as a fridge; all the food must be bought and consumed straight away.
Our marathon cooking session begins with peeling the vegetables; potatoes, eggplant, onions, tomatoes and green mangoes. Everything is diced and thrown into a pot, except the onions which are minced in the kino - a mortar and pestle type instrument. Bizari (curry powder) is added along with water and salt and then put on the glowing charcoals on the brazier to boil. The next step is to make the coconut milk. Cloves may be the cash crop of Zanzibar, a symbol of the island, but its coconuts that dominate most of the meals here. Two coconuts are roughly peeled and then cracked in half with the pestle. We each take a half and sip the refreshing coconut juice. The sweet juice is a welcome respite from the heat of the day.
From the perch of my own 6-inch stool, I watch as Riziki sits on the muzi (grating stool) and with the sharp tool on the end, starts to scrape out the coconut flesh. The bowl soon starts to fill up – it is amazing to see how much coconut actually comes out of the two shells. Riziki’s wrists move so fast, making it look incredibly easy, however when I take a seat on the small wooden structure to try my hand at it, coconut production comes to a grinding halt. This is obviously a skill that is perfected over the years, a real testament to the ‘slow food movement’, preserving and promoting local and traditional food products along with their lore and preparation.
When the coconuts have been scraped dry, we add water to the bowl of coconut flakes and mix it together with our hands. The white liquid is strained into the pot of simmering vegetables and the process is repeated another two or three times. The amount of liquid that can be squeezed from two coconuts is quite incredible. While the vegetable simmer away in the coconut milk, we set about sifting the rice through a big wicker strainer, looking for and picking out, stones and grass and other things that don’t look edible. The fish is scaled and gutted, and thrown in to simmer with the vegetables.
The hours pass in slicing, stirring, and squeezing more coconut milk. At midday, there is a clap of thunder and a gentle rain falls through the courtyard onto the stone floor. No one gives it notice. The hunger pains are starting to set in and the aromatic smells coming from the pots is mouth watering. It’s pleasure to watch and learn the Swahili way of cooking; each meal is made from scratch and has to be planned a few hours in advance. There are no convenience items in the village. Everything is weighed by tradition and feeling; not lines on a measuring cup.
At last the meal is ready – we all take a seat on the mat on the floor, circled around the feast. I’ve cooked many meals in my life, but a Swahili meal is probably the most rewarding.
Swahili cooking lessons with the Zanzibar Serena Inn can be arranged through Gallery Tours. For more information visit www.gallerytours.net or contact bookings@gallerytours.net
Top Spots for Swahili food in Zanzibar
Zanzibar Serena Inn Dining beachside as the dhows arrive with their catches, you can dine on the freshest Swahili food in Stone Town, prepared by the masala masters of Zanzibar Serena Inn’s kitchen. Their specialty: the classic vegetable samosas are impossible to resist.
Beyt El Chai Swahili by candlelight, this jewel in Shangani offers Swahili dishes with a twist. Their specialty: seafood
Two Tables Take it literally- this family run restaurant offers only two tables in the back of their Shangani Rd apartment. But don’t let the unorthodox seating arrangement deter you- Two Tables serves a delicious Swahili feast which could probably sustain you for week. Their specialty: home made avocado juice.
Jondeni Guesthouse (Pemba) Although you will have to fly or ferry your way over to Pemba for a meal, I would not leave the archipelago without tasting the Pweza (octopus) curry at Jiondeni. Though be warned- it is highly addictive and a rumored aphrodisiac.
Forodani night market You cannot leave Zanzibar without eating a few kilos of seafood at Forodani. This landmark is the capital for Zanzibar pizza, an omelet- style creation which contains vegetables, egg, cheese and nyama (meat). Sugar cane juice flows freely at Forodani and complements the seafood well.
Zanzibar Coffee House Arguably serves the best Swahili spiced coffee and chai in town.
