Rice and Beans for a Mzungu in Tanzania

By Leisha Adams

(Leisha is on staff with Lahash and currently lives and works in Tanzania)

Measure beans into a wide, flat basket. Remove debris, then wash thoroughly. Place in a large pot and fill to the brim with water. Fill the charcoal burner and use small kindling to build a fire among the coals. Bring water to a boil and cook until beans are soft. Drain and reserve remaining water. Chop onions, carrots, and green peppers, and grate tomatoes. Fry onions in oil with the grated tomatoes, diced carrots and peppers. Cook until soft, then add the beans and cook for approximately ten minutes. Add salt and the reserved “bean water.” Cook several minutes more, until water thickens into a kind of “soup.”

Place rice in a wide basket and remove small rocks, twigs, and bad grains. Wash thoroughly, then place in a pot with water and a little oil. Fill the cooker with kerosene and light each of the eight kerosene-soaked wicks. Cook the rice, stirring occasionally until the grains start to absorb water, then cover and cook until all water is absorbed.

Move the beans and rice into serving dishes and carry to the table, where the cook is expected to pray a blessing on the food. Load plates with a heaping serving of rice and serve the beans and vegetables over the rice.

If your appetite for the traditional wali na maharage is somewhat abated, a generous splash of Tabasco or local pili pili spice will give you a little different flavor and renew your enthusiasm for the national food of Tanzania.