Zanzibar Mix
‘Zanzibar Mix’ is one of the most famous street-foods of Tanzania, especially in Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam. Anyone who’s been to Tanzania probably knows and has had this delicious dish as it is sold on almost all the street corners!The ‘Mix’ is a bowl of smooth and tangy flour-based sauce cooked with lemon and mango, with tiny cubes of potatoes in it, followed by crispy bhajias and fried mashed potatoes, a spoon of coconut chutney, a dash of red-hot chutney and a scoop of deep fried cassava or potato shavings sprinkled on top. Every warm spoonful of this delectable dish is filled with flavour and spice and you are guaranteed to slurp down the bowl in record time!
Ingredients
- 2 heaped tbsp. gram flour
- 2 heaped tbsp. atta flour
- 1000 ml 1 litre warm water (keep some extra water handy on the side)
- 1/2 cup coconut milk optional
- salt to taste
- 2-3 tbsp. grated raw mango
- juice of 2 lemons
- 2 tsp red chilli powder
- drop of garlic paste
- 2-3 green chillies
- 2 potatoes peeled and cubed into bite sized pieces, then boiled until done
- 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
- drop of yellow colour optional
Instructions
- First you will need to prepare the bhajias, mashed potatoes and chutneys. Here are the recipes:BhajiasMashed Potatoes in Gram FlourCoconut ChutneyRed ChutneyThen you can prepare the cassava/potato shavings. You can use crushed cassava or potato chips/crisps if you want.Peel and rinse 1-2 potatoes or 1-2 sticks of cassava. Grate, then fry in hot oil until crispy. Drain and once cooled, store in an airtight container.Now you can prepare the sauce. There are many ways of preparing this sauce, this is my own personalized version.Sieve the flours together, then add a bit of warm water into it and mix to form a paste. Once the paste is smooth, pour it into a big pan, then slowly add the rest of the water a little at a time whilst stirring to incorporate the paste into the water smoothly. Once all the water is added, sprinkle 1 tsp. of salt and the chilli powder, green chilli, lemon juice plus the garlic paste. Turn on the heat and bring to a slow simmer whilst constantly stirring (this stage is crucial, if you don’t keep stirring, the flour will form lumps). As the mixture starts heating up, it will begin thickening slightly. It’s not supposed to get too thick, so you can add a bit of water if it feels very thick.Let this simmer for a couple of minutes whilst stirring, then add the grated mango and turmeric powder plus the coconut milk (if you are using it) a little at a time whilst stirring. Adjust salt and chilli. Keep simmering the mixture until the raw flour taste disappears. This could take about 20 mins or so. Once the raw smell/taste is gone you can then add all the boiled cubed potatoes.Keep simmering on gentle heat for about 5-10 more minutes, adjust water if it feels like it’s thickening too much. It should be of a medium consistency, not too thick and not too watery. You can add a few drops of yellow colour and stir it in if you want more vivid appearance. Once it is to your satisfaction, turn off the heat. Your sauce is ready!For serving, pour a couple of serving spoons full of the sauce with a few pieces of cubed boiled potatoes into a bowl. Add a few mashed fried potatoes and bhajias into it plus the chutneys. Then sprinkle your potato/cassava shavings on top and serve hot! Very enjoyable with a cold drink on the side.Enjoy!
Notes
Try to make the bhajias and potatoes in tiny sizes so that you can fit more of them into your bowl. 🙂
Salams Fouzia,
Can you plzzz post the recipe for “channa Batayta” I love it but i dont know how to make it.
Samia
W/Salaam, recipe is alredy posted: http://www.fauziaskitchenfun.com/kaladesiblack-channa-bateta/
AA fauzia, I made these yesterday and it was amazing!Jazakallahu kher sis.It brought back memories of having it at mama mumtaz in dar-es-salaam.
Is it possible to make with Bungo juice instead to add water, I like this please try once with same toppings.
Best culinary regards,
Jeetu.
That sounds like a great idea, give it a try, let me know how it turns out!
At first when I saw this
At first when I saw this recipe, All I was thinking was to bake it for my mother. She loves to see all my efforts and delicious recipe. She is my first and only tester of all my output. I want try this at home.
Delicious!! Turned out great
Delicious!! Turned out great every1 liked it… Thanx dear
Salam. Atta flour is the
Salam. Atta flour is the flour v use for rotli ne? Can v put all purpose flour instead?
W/Salaam, yes the same as for
W/Salaam, yes the same as for rotli. You can use AP flour. 🙂
Salaam thanks for your lovely
Salaam thanks for your lovely recipes! Where I live we don’t get raw mangoes at the moment, would this dish do without it? Could I add a bit of vinegar or increase the lemon instead?
W/Salaam, yes it will be fine
W/Salaam, yes it will be fine without the raw mango. Do not use vinegar but you can give it a taste and add a bit of extra lemon juice instead of the raw mango to give it that sour/tangy flavour.
Salams…
Thankyou for all these wonderful recipes. Had some queries…
Coconut milk should be the thick or the thin one?
And can v use the packet ones?