Welcome to Tanzania! I can't believe it has been close to a month since we visited Kyrgyzstan - wow! Welcome to the holidays, I guess. Tonight we visited Tanzania. I've always wanted to visit Tanzania, just to see Mt. Kilimanjaro. Bonus if I could hike it... Somehow, I don't see that happening...Also, a fun fact about Tanzania is that it is the top producer of cloves in the world! The population of Tanzania is 56.31 million people, and the capital is Dodoma. The national dish is...
Ugali!
Yep, just like Kenya and several other countries. We had it when we visited Cote d'Ivoire as well. It is a corn meal dumpling that traditionally is dipped in soup or sauce. So, to complement our Ugali, we made Coconut Potato Soup. There is a very interesting story about this soup from the original blogger where I got the recipe - I encourage you to go to that site and read about it! Anyway, here's what I did:
UGALI
1/3 C white corn meal
1 C boiling water
1/2 tsp salt
- Boil the cup of water on the stove and add salt.
- Add, bit by bit, the corn meal, ensuring that it is completely mixed after each addition. I used a whisk to do this.
- By the time the last of the corn meal is added, the ugali should be thick and sticky, but hold its form when cool.
(Source:
Ugali)
COCONUT POTATO SOUP
3 tbsp avocado oil
1 onion, chopped
6 small cloves garlic, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 carrots, diced
2 cans diced tomatoes, drained
4 medium Yukon potatoes, cubed
1 can coconut milk
4 C water
Salt and pepper, to taste
Avocado, for garnish
- In a pot over medium heat, cook onion and garlic until translucent (about 10 minutes).
- Add the peppers and carrots to the onions and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and increase the heat to medium-high.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until the juices evaporate and the tomatoes are soft and almost a paste. This took me 15ish minutes.
- Add the potatoes, coconut milk, water, salt, and pepper.
- Cook until the potatoes are tender.
- Top with avocado and enjoy!
(Source:
Coconut Potato Soup)
The verdict? We really enjoyed the soup. We added two "dumplings" of ugali to our soup, and it actually went really well together - we were surprised. We thought that the potatoes didn't add much to the soup, and next time we make it (because there will be a next time!) we will add chicken. It was a rich, comforting soup, but had a lightness about it. The avocados added a lot to it as well. The ugali, if eaten plain, was not good - it had the consistency of thick glue. But, when eaten with the soup, we really enjoyed it.
ME
Taste of Ugali (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 1
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 1
HANDSOME HUSBAND
Taste of Ugali (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 4
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 1
ME
Taste of Coconut Potato Soup (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 8
HANDSOME HUSBAND
Taste of Coconut Potato Soup (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 5
This was a good one - thanks for joining us! As life and holidays are upon us, stay tuned for our next country...it will be a surprise!
