Zanzibar: Swahili cooking

Last but certainly not least, was the food of Zanzibar. If you know me, you know I love a good meal. I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to take a Swahili cooking class.

We made fish in coconut sauce. Yum-O. 

A typical small shop in Stone town.

Veggie seller.

All fresh, local, organic, cheap.

The fish market. Stinky and neat.

The guy who cut the fish that we cooked and ate.

This is a chair that one sits in when grating coconut. Basically, its low to the ground, and you sit on it sideways. The coconut halves are grated against the rounded knife on the end and the coconut falls into the bowl. Once you have the coconut shavings, you add some water and squeeze it. What comes out is the coconut milk. And yes, I bought myself one of these. If I ever want to recreate this recipe, I'll have the proper equipment... or just something cool to hang in my kitchen. Either way, I'm prepared.

Making sesame bread with my teacher. 

This is a traditional African stove. Its made of metal and one puts charcoal inside to heat food. Think of it like a hibachi. This is also the same kind of stove that we use in Yambio.

A feast! Freshly made sesame bread, fish in coconut sauce, fresh mango and bananas.

My cooking teacher's daughter did henna tattoos. A traditional art in the Middle East and East Africa. Here she is painting my hands...

...and my feet. don't worry Mama and Papa, it fades away in a few weeks.