I started to make friday Africa day last week. And the week went by with only one post and now it is friday again. Time flies here, in Africa life is slower, no hurries!
So I slowly got up and made my cup of chai this morning. I used up one of the last packages of our chai bora tea, that we brought from Tanzania.
There is a big diversity in chai recipes around the world. My recipe for chai, that came closest to what we remember it to be in Tanzania, is about this:
boil together for about 5-10 minutes;
-water (I did about 3 cups)
-chai bora (black) tea or use darjeeling enough to make strong tea
-4 pods of cardammon (crushed in my stone grinder)
-1/2 Tbs of fennel seeds/anise seeds
-some ginger root sliced thin
- 1 1/2 cup of milk (whole milk preferably)
Strain into cups/pot and add brown sugar or honey to taste. YUM!!
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Today I would also like to share the cookbook that has inspired me throughout this week.
~The Soul Of A New Cuisine- a discovery of the foods and flavors of Africa ~ by Marcus Samuelsson
The book does not only include delicious cultural recipes, but also travel stories, tradition and beautiful images.
The author writes about the island of Zanzibar as a Magical place and that is exactely how I would have described it myself.
Josiah and I traveled there several times, about which I will for sure share one friday to come.
These two colorful photos I took in 2007 on the white beach of Kiwengwa
While staying in Stone town we ate Zanzibar Pizza nearly every night at the local food and culture night market (which unfortunately last time we were there was partly shut down.)
Here is the recipe the book above gives for Zanzibar Pizza (with some changes we made while trying to make the perfect Zanzibar pizza at home- we always fail, it is just lacking the atmosphere, the warmth, the smell of the island and the crowds of people)
Start of with making a home made pizza dough or dumpling dough.
Saute together;
-2 red onions, minced
-10 ounces of ground meat (beef)
-2 gloves of garlic, minced
-1/2 red chili, finely chopped
-2 tsp of curry powder
-3/4 cup of finely shredded cabbage
Transfer this to a large bowl and mix in 4 to 5 large eggs. In the meantime you devide the dough in 8. Roll each one out to a 1/4 inch thick circle. Add 1/8 of the filling to the middle of your circle. Now if you can find La vache qui rit (the laughing cow, I think found all over the world) you add half of one piece La vache qui rit to on top of the filling and then you bundle the dough up, so you have a closed bundle. Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a non stick pan over medium heat. Place bundle in pan and saute until golden brown for about 3 minutes, turn and cook other side for about 3 minutes. Serve with ketchup or a hot sauce!!
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Oooohhh... I should make some for lunch!! (Josiah would be SO thrilled)
I loved the comments and emails I got from everyone last time, sharing your experiences about Africa or asking me more questions about mine! Thank you!
Africa does not leave my heart ever, I will post more next friday.
