82 MAY 2019
Tanzania
WHILE RESEARCHING MY BOOK Far Afield, I traveled to the Swa-
hili Coast of East Africa, which includes the Lamu Archipelago
in Kenya and the islands of Zanzibar, about 22 miles off Tanza-
nia’s mainland. In the 19th century, explorer Richard F. Burton
described this sub-Saharan coast as a place where “earth, sea,
and sky all seemed wrapped in a soft and sensuous repose.”
Cooled by the trade winds, the region lies on one of the world’s
oldest spice routes. Early traders from Goa, Portugal, Malaysia,
and the Arabian Peninsula influenced its multinational culi-
nary tradition—dishes are aromatic with locally grown clove,
cinnamon, nutmeg, and black pepper, and paired with the
seafood caught on fishing dhows and ngalawa outrigger canoes
that still sail the Indian Ocean. One of the most characteristic
dishes is samaki wa kupaka: red snapper broiled over a jiko
charcoal brazier and smothered in a creamy turmeric–coconut
milk curry. It can be found on the plainest tables in fishermen’s
homes and served at the grandest lodges on empty white-sand
beaches lined with coconut palms, but I recommend hunting for
it among the street-food stalls at the Forodhani Gardens night
market in Stone Town, also known as Mji Mkongwe. With its
carved mahogany doorways and winding lanes and cramped
bazaars, the oldest part of Zanzibar City is a center of Swahili
culture. (Rock star Freddie Mercury is the city’s most famous
native son. Born Farrokh Bulsara to Parsi parents who emigrated
to Zanzibar from Gujarat, his family left for England during a
revolution in the 1960s.) This is the best place to end the day:
on a townhouse rooftop bar, facing that sensuous sea, with a
cocktail in hand. —SHANE MITCHELL
Eating
SNAPPER
In Zanzibar
Grilled Snapper in
Coconut Sauce
P. 113
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