Immerse yourself in Tanzanian culture and cuisine with a visit to a local market and a live dining experience with a warm and welcoming family. Learn to prepare traditional dishes like ugali and enjoy the unique flavors of coconut milk and wood-fired cooking.
- Njoro - This is a unique opportunity to visit the home of a local and explore traditional culture and cuisine. Shida, Marissa and William will take you to a small market, where you will be introduced to locally grown fruits, vegetables and herbs. Learn more about the ingredients on sale and how it is used in the traditional cooking process, while you walk around the market area with your hosts. Stop at some of their favourite vendor shops to buy ingredients for your cooking class. Then walk back or take a tuk tuk from the market to Shida’s home, which is about 20 minutes away. In your one hour hands-on cooking class, help Shida to prepare fresh coconut milk using a traditional tool called ‘buzi’, it is a small wooden seat with a sharp grinder at the end that is used to shave the coconut meat. The coconut milk is used to prepare the vegetables and stew dishes. Then learn to make ugali, a traditional corn meal dish that is served with sauteed vegetables. Shida loves cooking this for her family. Making Ugali is an art, and is simple but labor intensive, a real treat to learn!
- Private transportation
- Complimentary transfers for city hotels (additional cost for airport/airport hotel transfers)
- Private market visit and cooking class with host Marissa
- Vegetarian and halal meal options available on request
- Alcoholic beverages included
- Uji with tamarind and black pepper - or Fried bananas and cassava with pili pili (hot) sauce
- Ugali with beef stew or vegetable soup or Mtori (banana stew)
- Fresh fruit
- Kahawa and Kashata (coffee and peanut brittle)
- Local brew - (made from fermented bananas and grains…if you’re a Kombucha fan, you’ll love it!)
Embark on a journey to a local market with your guide to discover fresh produce grown nearby. Get to know the core ingredients of Tanzanian food before taking a quick 20-minute tuk tuk ride to the home of your hosts. You’ll be received by Marissa, William, and his mother Shida, a welcoming family who invite you into their humble mud house for a heartwarming cultural and gastronomic experience.
Join Shida in grating coconuts for freshly made coconut milk and in preparing Ugali, a staple cornmeal dish of the region. Savor the food you’ve helped prepare, sharing a communal meal outdoors with the whole family. Eating Ugali involves taking a piece with your hand, rolling it into a ball, and using it to scoop up vegetables or stew. Some other dishes you might have the chance to taste include Uji (a millet and peanut porridge), beef and green banana stew, and rice complemented by spiced beans. All meals are cooked using coconut milk and slow-cooked over a wooden fire, rendering them a unique and mouthwatering taste! Cap off your experience by indulging in peanut brittle and sampling Shida’s local brew alongside your new friends and family.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
