Food Habits of Tanzania

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Preparation & cooking methods

Preparation of Kitalolo, a main dish cooked in the Kilimanjaro area, Tanzania

KITALOLO

Ingredients:

2-3 soft green banana (note that there are different types of banana in Tanzania, so for this particular dish, there must be very soft bananas)
1 litre sour milk (fresh cow's milk left to ferment over two days at room temperature)
Green leafy vegetable called Mchicha ~ 1 kg (a sort of Amaranth or any other seasonal green leafy vegetable available at the time)
1/2 spoonful of margarine

Methods:

Boil banana in medium heat until soft, then drain out the water. Put the vegetable in boiling water until soft then drain the water out. Mash banana with mashing spoon and add the margarine while mashing evenly until the mixture is very soft. Add the vegetables in the mashed banana until all is evenly done. Add sour milk gradually until you have a good consistency (and it is ready for consumption)

Notes:

Kitalodo was used for sick people as well, or as refreshment when people were from a farm and while waiting for dinner.
This dish was normally very green and not very good looking, but it was very delicious and nutritious too. The food is ready to be fed to the child (normally one year to school aged children will be fed this type of food).

** If a large amount of food was prepared, this could be consumed over a two day period because the longer it lasted the better it tasted. This food was quite safe because it was simply done and minimally contaminated if at all.

Source: Iterview with Dr. Lillian Mwanri, 2005
(Tanzania - Kilimanjaro area)
Communicable Disease Control Branch
Public Health & Clinical Coordination
Department of Health,, Australia
http://www.dh.sa.gov.au/pehs

Food storage and preparation on Ukara island, Lake Viktoria 1951

This report provides you with information on:
1. Storage methods
2. Preparation of

• Cassava (raw, dried, mouldy, bitter leaves
  
• Uji, gruel
  
• Bambara groundnuts or Njugu-Mawe
  
• Fish
  
• Green vegetables
• Eggs
  
• Fruit
  
• Milk
  
• Insects: (Lake flies (Sami), Grasshoppers (Shenene or Synene), White ants or termites (Mbabaga), Loctus and crickets;
  
  PDF: Dietary survey on Ukara island_1951
  

Water pot

Stomes to grind cereals

The Sukuma diet, in the lake province 1956

Material for this study was collected in Mwanza district in the following three districts:
Rumara, a lakeside parish of Ilemera chiefdom

• Bunyamhanda, parish of Bunegeji
• Four parishes of Nassa chiefdom
  Data an information is provided on:
  
• Main food items, its use, preparation, storage and cooking methods
  
• The brewing principles of the 3 common traditional beers
  
• Meals and habits
  
• Seasonal variations
  

PDF: A preliminary enquiry into Sukama diet in the Lake Province, Tanganyika Territory 1956

How did the Haya prepare and what did they use their foods for?

This report gives you a broad information on:

• The locally grown food crops, their local names
  
• Preparation, cooking methods
  

PDF: East African medical survey, Monograph No. 2_1954

The Gogo diet

This article provides you with information on

• The infants diet
  
• Staple foods, snacks, meal pattern, diet
  
• Quantitative analysis of the Gogo diet
  
• Meal composition
  
• Meal preparation, cooking methods
  

PDF: The food and growth of Gogo children 1960

How were the foods stored, prepared and cooked in Uyui, Tabora in 1967?

Read more about the food habits of the Tabora region in the following article and obtain information and data on:

• Food consumed during:
  1. work
  2. school
  3. travelling
  4. illness
  5. pregnancy and lactation
  
• Food taboos
  
• Child feeding practices
  
• Food storage and processing
  
• Agriculture
  
• Facilities in the house
  
• Staple foods and their use
  
• Food groups and their contribution to nutrient intake
  
• Calorie and nutrient requirments, intakes and sources
  

PDF: Report of a dietary survey in Tabora region 1967

Food production practices and its influencing factors among the Nykia group

PDF: Socio-cultural factors affecting the diet of the northeast coastal Bantu 1964

Created by Verena Raschke 2005 / Contact