Sundays in Dar-es-Salaam were generally reserved for spending time at the famous Oyster Bay. This was time dedicated to hooking up with our friends, for our children to run free playing beach games while the men enjoyed cold beer and the women sat on picnic blankets catching up on the fashion,food,etc… Freshly prepared mogo (muhogo or cassava), makai and vyazi tamu would be purchased from the local vendors and consumed in vast quantities followed by madafu (fresh young coconut water).
Those of you who know Dar well, will recall the inviting aroma freshly barbecued cassava root otherwise known as MOGO or barbecued corn on the cob – the sekeli makai being prepared by the locals. Dar is a friendly place and you will find people are out in the evenings walking around and stopping at the local street vendors for a bite to eat. Sekelo Mogo and makai are never too far away as the the various bhajia shops or ice-cream parlours. The mogo, makai or vyazi tamu once cooked would be split in half whilst still hot and seasoned with paprika, salt and sharp lime..the local vendor would then wrap this up in newspaper and pass it on to you to take along. I know some of you would be horrified at the thought of your food being wrapped in newspapers but at that time, these things were normal practice and no one really complained…
In Charleston, when we want to re-create those memories of Oysterbay, we use our barbeques, and the rarely available fresh cassava root..quite often we resort to using our worktop toaster ovens which is okay if you are really craving the mogo but you miss out on the hot charcoal grilled taste along with that of the newspaper in which the locals wrapped up our precious picnic (though if you really crave the newspaper aroma then I am sure your local rag would do just fine but hey, I am not encouraging you to do this).
Here is how we make Sekelo Mogo and Makai Charleston Style:
1. wrap a piece 10 “of peeled mogo (cassava root) in glad wrap and microwave for a couple of minutes.
2. Remove the mogo from Microwave, take off the wrap and test to see if almost tender by inserting a skewer
3. pop the mogo into a toaster oven and let it roast for a few minutes until it starts to slightly brown on the outside
4. use a fork to ever so lightly squash the mogo pieces – this adds to the texture making it “Crisp on the outside- fluffy inside”.
5. lightly sprinkle paprika, salt and add a dash of fresh lime.
best eaten with Kachumbari or chutney…receiptes to follow.
jikoni 