Zanzibar Cooking Class

On the flight over they had an article about the Mama's of Zanzibar cooking class. It tried to book us but it was not available the 2 days we were there. Then I found another one on viator but also full. Finally I found one available and booked it without reading the particulars
Barbara and I had a quiet breakfast outside. The hotel had a Sunday brunch later so at 8am we were the only ones sitting out. We watched some people in the water and a group of women bathing, with all covered up in long dresses and head scarves. One was trying to get out and her clothes were clinking to her hindering her walking in the water. The women here are all covered up in Arab dresses and head scarves.
We had a pickup for our class at 930am. I thought he was going to take us to the market but after driving thru the old town we got out to the woods and a communal spice farm. Zanzibar is known for its spices and all their cloves are sent to the US for dental use in toothpaste. The farm was very primitive but interesting to see the various spices and where they come from.
Then we walked to an open air, cement flooring, thatched roof building where they had us sit on a plastic mat. Barbara could not, so they brought her a rustic bench. The lady was cooking with a charcoal fire sitting on the ground. She dressed us with a scarf around the waist and matching head piece. All was so primitive. Water came from a yellow bucket. All utensils were on the floor but in buckets.
First she fried chicken wings and then tuna. Then she made a sauce with tomatoes I graded, half an onion and 1 carrot. Then she had Barb using her hands, add water to the coconut she graded and squeezed it out to make coconut milk. Barb was a bit discussed but I explained that it was gonna get cooked. The cook added the coco milk to the tomato sauce along with tomato paste and potatoes. She put the sauce aside and cooked a big plantain in coconut milk along with cardamon. Their cardamon was green and mild. The next dish was the rice. She started by flying a lot of sliced onions 2-3. Then she added a spiced mixture she had me pound with cardamon, whole garlic cloves with leaves and salt. Then the rice, water and a cinnamon stick. When the water boiled she put the cover on, took it off the charcoal, put all the charcoal on top of the cover and put it back on the empty stove. She said to wait 15 min for the rice. She made salad of sliced tomatoes, cucumber and onions with lime juice.
The plantains, stew potatoes in sauce and rice were wonderfulRead more