How traditional cooking is now uniting tourists and communities in Tanzania

Moshi. As far back as the 15th to 18th centuries, explorers would come to Africa; among the things they would take back with them were spices, fruits, and culinary knowledge. New dishes and cooking techniques would emerge from blending what they learnt with the culinary skills they already possessed.

The beautiful art of culinary exploration is not all lost; in fact, in Moshi, it is slowly gaining traction as one of the most popular tourism attractions. Wearing head scarves with Tanzanian flag colours, a group of tourists from Austria and Germany are attentively watching Ms Magreth Ndoro as she is winnowing uncooked rice.

As the grains are tossed in the air to separate from the husks, she is explaining to them the importance of the procedure before pouring the rice into hot boiling water.

As they observe, she hands one of the Barbaras the winnowing basket to try to toss the rice. It’s the first time for the Austrian lady to toss the traditionally woven basket, and her first try wasn’t perfect. Still, their teacher acknowledged her effort, and with both smiling and laughing, she continued teaching them the next step.

Cooking rice the Swahili way is deeply rooted within the coastal people; it goes beyond a meal—it’s their identity, a culture of celebration in festive times and confrontation in bereavement. This 9th-century food has truly withstood the test of time.

The cooking lessons wouldn’t be complete without cooking ugali. A makeshift three-stone stove was prepared for the students; one by one, they would squat and start stirring in the pot with streaming hot water mixed with maize flour.

As one is learning how to masterfully hold the wooden cooking spoon, others are watching; they are learning how to cook ‘ugali,’ a thick dough-like staple made from maize flour and water, an everyday meal for ordinary Tanzanians. The four women have wrapped themselves in khanga, just like Tanzanian women do when it’s cooking time.

They take turns stirring, as some local women from the community stand by and watch, watching. Over their cooking is a Maasai lady, sitting on a stone adding maize flour as the ladies stir; Ms Ndoro nearby instructs them what to do.

The Maasai lady is one of the ladies in the local community who has volunteered to help the visitors know their way around the kitchen. In this case, the kitchen is somewhere in the bush, an experience the tourists seem to enjoy as the birds chirp in the nearby woods.

The Maasai lady takes over the wooden spoon and masterfully demonstrates to them how it is done. With quick repeated strokes, the steaming ugali is ready, as the visitors are amazed by how easy she made it look.

Stirring ugali is not an easy task, nor does it require strong muscles to cook it to perfection; you could be the strongest in the room, vigorously stir the dough, and still come up short with the dough not firm enough.

Traditionally in Tanzania, women have ruled the kitchen. Even when it’s time to cook ugali, presumably a dish that requires strength, women have always mastered it better than men. The mystery is in the timing and the correct balanced mixture of maize flour and water.

Get that wrong and the ugali won’t come out firm and thick enough. This group of tourists is learning that in awe, some are taking notes as they learn a new culinary skill. Florian, an Austrian man in his late 20s, was curious about how coconut milk was extracted to mix it into the rice, giving it that mouthwatering flavour.

Their instructor handed him the coconut grater stool. A traditional tool, the low bench has a small serrated metal blade shaped like a round saw at the front. After breaking the coconut into two halves, you grate it by running the inside of the coconut against the blade in smooth motions.

As he starts grating the coconut, he admits this is the first time he has ever tried it; as he carries on, he is amazed how easy it feels.

Florian later goes to the nearby pot and starts cooking vegetables; as he is stirring the nearly ready dish, he brags that he is the best chef back home. The ladies nearby laugh and disagree, but it’s clear he is a quick learner and his culinary skills are unquestionable. He would soon make a great Swahili dish, chef.

They have loved visiting Tanzania, of course; the enchanting island of Zanzibar drew them to the country, and the safaris in the mainland have always been adventurous. But this time it’s a unique experience.

They said cooking brings them closer to the people; you get to sit across from a person and look them in the eye, pay attention to what they are saying, and really absorb all the culinary knowledge they are delighted to share.

Learning about their culture as well, it’s an honour to have that proximal access. They tried the food in Zanzibar and found it delicious, but they were happy to get to the southern circuit and learn how to cook. Austria has delicious cuisine; “one of the most popular dishes is called ’Schnitzel,’ a breaded and fried veal cutlet, normally eaten with French fries.

The tourists from Germany fondly talked about their favourite food from their home country, ‘Kartoffeln,’ meaning potatoes, which is used to make multiple favourite German dishes, from potato salad ’Kartoffelsalat’ to potato soup ‘Kartoffelsuppe.’

One tourist with a bright smile reminisces about her first time eating Tanzanian food; it was fish curry with chapati and rice. “It was delicious; I felt very happy and warm,” she remembered. Florian from Austria had chicken masala as his first food outside his country, similarly to what you would find in the Spice Island of Zanzibar.

The group spent hours learning from a tour guide and their cooking instructor, Ms Ndoro; they praised her for her patience and her ability to take them step by step while keenly explaining to them the process to get that perfectly cooked Tanzanian food. “I wrote down every step she told us,” one of them chimed.

They found Ms Ndoro to be funny, which helped ease the learning process and make it more enjoyable. “She was very accommodating,” another one added. Ms Ndoro is a young Tanzanian lady in her late 20s who specialises as a safari and cultural tour guide. She realised a desire among many tourists she encounters to get a taste of local cuisine, different from what they are offered in the hotels.

She decided to not only show them the local restaurants serving the food, but as is often done in Tanzanian communities, she went with them to the market, bought the grains and vegetables, and together they would go back and cook from scratch.

Something that they found enjoyable, and the whole experience brought them together as they shared tasks. The whole process from the market to the kitchen takes up to four hours, and the meal would be ready for consumption.

So far she has received culinary enthusiasts from France, Germany, Austria, and many other European countries. She uses all social media platforms to show her services, hoping more people will come to experience Tanzanian cuisine.

The current group has shown great skills, and their efforts have paid off. Finally, they all gather around the table and enjoy a plateful of rice, vegetables, peas, and beans, a plate they have prepared from scratch.

The group of Austrian and German tourists has really bonded with the communities; they have travelled to Zanzibar and tasted the best spicy food the island has to offer, and their cooking lessons in Moshi have been a mouth-watering experience.

They are meticulously documenting the methods for preparing Tanzanian cuisine, with the aspiration to ignite their stoves and recreate these dishes for their friends and family when they return home.

Some already have plans on what Tanzanian food they will cook for their friends. Hoping through their culinary tales, their pals will be persuaded to come to Tanzania and experience it firsthand.

For now, they want to spend their remaining time in the country travelling to the commercial capital city, Dar es Salaam. They would like to visit the vibrant local markets, a ceaseless cacophony of Kariakoo market.