Journey to the kitchen – Zanzibar: mchicha wa nazi – Watch the full show

Zanzibar amaranth stew with coconut milk: mchicha wa nazi
Our journalist Nawelle Senad went to taste a coconut amaranth recipe in the kitchens of chef Amina Hamis-Juma. Originally from Tanzania, she brought this family recipe with her to make it a classic of Zanzibari cuisine. Pierre Raffard, food geographer, gives us a quick summary of the history of Zanzibar, nourished by its various influences, deciphers the journey of amaranth, a plant used for more than eight thousand years and details the Zanzibarian policy which has had one objective for several years: to make the inhabitants consume more fruit and vegetables.

A taste of country: Dina, a Zanzibari in England
In London, it is at Brick Lane that Dina finds the markets that most remind her of her island of origin, Zanzibar. For her guest, she concocts a dish typical of her country of origin: samaki wa kupaka, a delicious fish-based recipe.

To your pots!
For those with a sweet tooth, we offer you a recipe for mchicha wa nazi, easy to reproduce at home. Put on your most beautiful apron!

 

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La recette du coconut spinach

 

Ingredients for 4 people: 

 

600 g amaranth (replaceable with fresh spinach)

1.5 liters of coconut milk

3 tomatoes

2 green peppers

2 red onions

3 carrots

2 cloves of garlic

3 cm of ginger

150 g of rice

2 tbsp. tsp. masala powder

1 tbsp. tsp. cinnamon powder

½ c. à c. de cardamome 

 

Preparation steps: 

 

Slice the amaranth, cut the carrots into sticks, the peppers and tomatoes into strips and the onions into slices.

 

Crush the garlic cloves and ginger.

 

In a stewpot, pour olive oil and first cook the onions for 3 minutes over high heat.

 

When they are golden, reduce the heat to medium, add half the peppers, two thirds of the carrots, garlic, ginger, masala and add two thirds of the tomatoes.

 

Heat for 5 minutes.

 

Pour half of the coconut milk into the saucepan, add the chopped amaranth, reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for 10 minutes.

 

In a saucepan, pour the rest of the coconut milk, bring to the boil, add the cinnamon, cardamom, rice and cook for 10 minutes.

 

Add the rest of the vegetables to finish the last 5 minutes of cooking.

 

Serve the rice on a plate and the vegetable preparation in a bowl.