Zanzibar

The food of Zanzibar is some of the best and most varied in Africa. The people who have come to the island – especially Persians, Arabs, Indians and Black Africans – have brought new ingredients and created a fusion of techniques. The result is a distinctive cuisine, which uses abundant rice, coconut, bananas and spices. It is colourful, fragrant and exciting, and one more excuse for visiting this beautiful destination.

    

Coconuts and Bananas

These two ingredients are essential for Zanzibar’s cuisine. In Stone Town Market you can see children carrying fresh coconuts on their heads. They open them with a machete and you drink the delicious juice. The flesh (pulpa) is made into coconut milk. This is added) to fish, meat and vegetable dishes, including soups. You can eat fresh bananas or use them as an accompaniment to savoury (sabrosos) dishes.

Ugali and Pilau Rice

The basis of a typical meal in most of East Africa is Ugali, made from maize (maíz) or cassava (mandioca) flour.(harina) Some visitors will find the texture strange, but it is perfect for absorbing the sauces of meat or vegetable dishes. On special occasions there is magnificent pilau rice. This dish is common to the Middle East and West Asia, and adapted to local cultures and ingredients. It is an elaborate dish made with spices, nuts, (nueces) dried fruit (frutos secos) and meat.

Sugar Cane Juice (zumo de caña de azúcar)

Because the majority of Zanzibarans are Muslim,(musulmanes) alcohol is not served in many places. In hotel bars you will find the Tanzanian national beer, called Safari Lager. The best drinks are delicious fruit juices made with the island’s abundant fruits. A glass of sugar cane juice with lime and ginger (gengibre) will be a memorable experience. Or why not have some spicy ice cream, made with a combination of the island’s spices?