Zanzibar Curry: Love It Like There’s No Tomorrow
My “Zanzibar Curry” Spotify playlist is 24-song long. Some of them made it to the top of my Spotify Unwrapped 2024 list - “Maokoto” by Billnass and Marioo hit the ground running from the moment I shazamed it in a Zanzibar taxi. Shazaming was my preferred way of going around Unguja.
The island of Zanzibar, kisiwa cha Unguja in Swahili, sits nicely in the Indian Ocean, off the Eastern Coast of Tanzania. Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina writes in his satirical essay “How to write about Africa” that one should always use the word “Africa” in conjunction with the words such as “darkness” or “safari” with subtitles ideally mentioning “Zanzibar” in some shape or form. His observations were highly critical, pointing out the stereotype and the lack of perspective among many Western writers when describing the continent of Africa. I can only attest to this stereotype.
Prior to my travels to Eastern Africa I started reading the books of the famed Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuściński. Traveling journalists (meaning, journalists who are travelers) reporting on political events and regime changes in faraway countries have been my heroes since I was a child. And Mr. Ryszard is of the most adventurous caliber - he spent four decades of his life reporting on Asia, Latin America, and Africa, witnessed twenty-seven coups and revolutions and was sentenced to death four times. Be aware of career choices. Regardless, his work on Africa is his most famous and likely most personal. In his book “The Shadow of the Sun” he writes:
“The continent is too large to describe. It is a veritable ocean, a separate planet, a varied, immensely rich cosmos. Only with the greatest simplification, for the sake of convenience, can we say “Africa”. In reality, except as a geographic appellation, Africa does not exist.”
But, I have to admit and all truth to be told, Zanzibar is worthy of all its stereotypes! It is such a unique and beautiful place at the intersection of so many worlds - African, Indian, Arab, and European. The island taps into all the senses but the taste … of a Swahili curry … rules them all!
When I was a little girl, my dad quizzed me about the birthplace of Freddie Mercury which he claimed to be Zanzibar. I vehemently denied this possibility so my dad sent me to find the answer. Who knew that I would venture there one day to confirm what my encyclopedia said! At the end of the day, I was left with one choice only - to love the island and its spices like there is no tomorrow.
Oh, the Zanzibar Curry .. use a mortar and a pestle:
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 ½ tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tbsp turmeric
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp sweet paprika
½ tsp chilli powder
Sources:
Binyavanga Wainana. How to Write About Africa. 2024. One World Trade Paperback Edition.
Ryszard Kapuściński. The Shadow of the Sun. 2022. First Vintage International Edition.
