Tanzania: vegan urojo

We have arrived in Tanzania on our vegan world tour. In this East African country, we prepare vegan urojo, a popular street food with notable influences from India. To make urojo, you start with a silky smooth, slightly sour potato soup and then cover it with delicious toppings, such as deep-fried black-eyed pea fritters, crunchy potato balls, and refreshing coconut chutney. Read on to learn more about Tanzania and urojo or jump straight to the recipe.

Tanzania

Tanzania is a large country with a very diverse population. Positioned on the East African coast, the country has seen a lot of cultural and material exchanges with neighbours across the Indian Ocean and the Arabic Sea. The coastal region of Tanzania is part of the Swahili Coast, a long coastal region stretching from Kenya in the north to Mozambique in the south, inhabited by Swahili peoples.

Tanzanian cuisine

Unlike neighbouring Burundi and Rwanda where a large part of the daily diet is made up of vegetables, Tanzanian food contains a lot of meat ​[1]​. Still, vegetables like leafy greens such as cassava leaves and wild plants, okra, beans, and of course different bananas (Tanzania is home to at least 17 species of bananas ​[1]​) are a big part of the cuisine ​[1]–[3]​.

The cultural exchange between the Swahili coast and their Arabic and South Asian neighbours across the seas has had a large impact on the local cuisine, in particular along the coast and in the Zanzibar archipelago ​[1]–[3]​. You will find dishes like kabaab (kebab), sambusa (samosa), and pilau (spiced rice) alongside East African dishes like ugali (stiff porridge, similar to oshifima but made with maize) and ndiz an nyama (plantain stew with meat). Other East African dishes include sukuma wiki (“extend the week”), a cheap stew based on collard greens to stretch the budget, and mchicha, a stew made from amaranth leaves and peanuts.

Tanzanian street food

On the Tanzanian street food scene you can find quite a few interesting dishes. One example is chipsi mayai, an omelett with french fries in the batter ​[1]​. Zanzibar pizza is another really interesting dish ​[1]–[3]​. Despite its name, the dish has very little to do with an Italian-style pizza. Instead, Zanzibar pizza is made with an unleavened dough that is stretched thin and then stuffed with anything you fancy before it is folded and fried. Popular fillings include different meats, mushrooms, or vegetables and the almost obligatory mayonnaise, cheese and egg. The Zanzibar pizza is related to Southeast Asian murtabak and maybe Yemen’s mutabbaq and demonstrates the diverse influences Tanzanian cuisine has ​[2], [4]​.

Another really interesting street food dish is urojo, a sour, velvety soup topped with deep-fried goodies and delectable chutneys.

Urojo

Urojo, or Zanzibar mix as the dish is also called, is a popular street food in Tanzania, in particular in the Zanzibar archipelago and in coastal Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s largest city. Urojo is a simple yellow, velvety potato soup spiced with turmeric and citrus. What makes the dish stand out and why so many people seem to love it, is the toppings. The yellow soup is just the base and is meant to carry a wide array of toppings, depending on what the cook or diner prefers. Commonly, urojo is topped with bajia (deep-fried legume balls), kachori (deep-fried potato balls), different chutneys, and something crunchy.

Urojo is of Swahili origin and combines East African and South Asian elements. The dish is particularly similar to Indian kadhi pakora, where yogurt is slow-simmered to create a thick soup topped with e.g. onion pakora (deep-fried onions in chickpea flour batter) ​[5]​.

The urojo soup itself is quite simple and most commonly made by simmering flour in water spiced with turmeric and lime or lemon ​[6]–[9]​ but some cooks include mango and a bit of coconut as well ​[10]–[13]​ or spices like ginger or chili ​[9]​. When the soup has thickened to create a smooth, gravy-like texture, boiled potatoes are added. The different toppings are what really makes urojo stand out.

Urojo toppings

When ready, the soup is ladled into bowls and the diner adds their own toppings. The most traditional toppings are bajia zu kunde and kachori. The bajia are similar to falafel and are made by grinding soaked legumes such as black-eyed peas, mung beans, or chana dal (or a combination thereof) to create a smooth batter ​[6], [9], [14]–[18]​. The batter is seasoned with fresh cilantro, onion, garlic, ginger, chili, and curry powder before being deep-fried in small balls. Some variations add fresh fenugreek leaves ​[10], [16]​, and spinach ​[10]​ or exclude some of the aromatics ​[14]​.

Kachori are made by mashing boiled potatoes, seasoning them with cilantro, lime juice, and other spices before shaping them into balls ​[19]–[21]​. The balls are then dipped in a flour-based batter and deep-fried before being added to the soup.

In addition to bajia and kachori, the urojo is topped with different chutneys. Which chutneys are available to choose from varies but most often a coconut chutney, made from grinding grated coconut with cilantro, lime, and chili, is present ​[9], [22], [23]​. Other chutneys include tamarind chutney ​[7], [8]​, mango chutney ​[8]​, and red (chili) or green (cilantro) chutney ​[10]​. If you like, you can add a few drops of hot sauce as well before sprinkling the urojo with something crunchy. The crunchy element takes many shapes such as deep-fried cassava or potato shavings ​[7], [18]​, Indian sev (deep-fried chickpea “sprinkles” often found in Indian street food dishes) ​[8]​, roasted peanuts ​[18]​, or even plain old potato chips ​[6], [24]​. Some vendors and home cooks also add some extra protein in the form of boiled eggs or grilled meat on a skewer (mishkaki) ​[7], [24]–[26]​.

Vegan urojo

While I have only come across vegan recipes for the urojo soup itself, many cooks prefer to add boiled eggs ​[7], [23]​ or meat skewers (mishkaki) ​[6], [7], [21], [22]​ as toppings. But leaving those two toppings out, all the other toppings are inherently vegan so making a vegan urojo is very straightforward. Most of the recipes I came across did not even use eggs or meat as toppings so I don’t think you lose anything by omitting them.

Conclusion

This was a really interesting dish to prepare and devour. It took a bit of work to prepare all the toppings but thankfully, the base soup is very straightforward to make. And a large part of the work on the toppings can be made in advance; the coconut chutney, the bajia batter, and the seasoned mashed potatoes for the kachori can all be made in advance. The bajia and kachori can then be deep-fried just before serving. Finally, the urojo soup is prepared in about 15 minutes just before serving.

The urojo soup has a mild, refreshing citrus flavour and is velvety smooth. The toppings add great flavour elements with cilantro, chili, curry powder and refreshing coconut and lime flavour. The fried, grated cassava (or crunchy substitute like potato chips) is a great texture element. The many toppings ensures no single bite is the same. Overall, this vegan urojo is a very interesting and flavourful dish and is a sure way to impress people if you have guests coming over.

Vegan urojo

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Vegan urojo

Urojo is a Tanzanian street food soup where a smooth, slightly sour potato soup is covered in delicious, toppings such as deep-fried kachori and bajia along with delicious chutneys.

Course street food

Cuisine East African, South Asian

Keyword deep fried, soup, street food

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 3 people

Ingredients

Urojo

• 2 boiled potatoes, cut into pieces
• 100 mL all purpose flour
• 800 mL water
• 1 tbsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• salt to taste

Bajia

• 200 mL black-eyed peas, soaked overnight
• 100 mL cilantro
• ¼ onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 cm ginger
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 green chili
• ½ tsp salt

Kachori

• 3 boiled potatoes, cut into pieces
• 1+1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 3 sprigs cilantro optional
• chili powder, to taste
• 100 mL all-purpose flour
• 100 mL water
• salt, to taste

Coconut chutney

• 100 mL desiccated, shredded coconut
• 100 mL water
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 3 sprigs cilantro
• 1 green chili optional
• salt to taste

Other suggested toppings

• Deep-fried, grated cassava uncooked cassava is poisonous
• Deep-fried, grated potatoes
• potato chips
• sev
• tamarind chutney
• coriander chutney
• scotch bonnet hot sauce
• red chili chutney

Instructions

Overview

• This dish consists of 2-3 deep-fried toppings and a base soup. I found it easiest to prepare all deep-frying toppings first and then having an extended deep-frying session. During the deep-frying, you can make the base soup as well.

  Tip: you can prepare several items the day before you make the urojo. The bajia batter, the kachori mashed potatoes, the chutney(s) and the pre-boiled potatoes can all be made in advance for a faster cooking session the day you serve the dish.

Coconut chutney

• Blend all ingredients to a coarse texture. Add water as needed.

  Can be prepared a few days in advance.

Bajia

• Note: the beans should be soaked overnight or for several hours before using.
• remove the shell from the beans as best you can. You can use it by mushing fistfuls of beans or squeezing individual beans. It is not the end of the world if some shell remains.

  Drain the beans.
• Pure the beans in a food processor along with onion, garlic, ginger, chili, spices, salt, and half the coriander. The pure should be quite smooth and start to stick together on its own.

  Test the pure by squeezing some in your fist. It should hold together very well.
• Finely chop the remaining cilantro and add to the mixture. (You can also blend all the cilantro but it looks nice with a few green specs.)
• The batter is now ready for deep frying. You can leave it to rest a few hours or until the next day.

Kachori

• Mash the preboiled potatoes using a potato masher or a fork. Add turmeric, cilantro and chili powder (optional). Squeeze in lime or lemon juice.

  This mash can be prepared the day before serving.
• When it is time to deep-fry, prepare the batter for coating by mixing flour, water, salt and turmeric. This should form a fairly thin, but not too thin, batter.

Grated, deep-fried cassava

• If preparing your own deep-fried cassava, peel the cassava using a knife. Grate the cassava and use paper towels to press out most of the liquid. Spread out thinly and allow to dry.

  Do this the same day as deep-frying.

Deep-frying the toppings

• It is recommended to deep-fry all your toppings at the same time. The order is not very important.
• Prepare a strainer on a plate with some paper towels or similar to collect your deep-fried toppings
• Heat oil with a high smoke point (such as canola) to about 150℃.
• For the cassava, sprinkle in the grated strands and ensure they are separated into individual pieces. Use a utensil in the oil to to make sure they don't stick together.

  Deep-fry until a golden brown. Remove from oil and let drain.
• For the bajia, use your hands to firmly press the bean batter into tight balls, about 3-4 cm across. Carefully add them into the oil, a few at a time.

  Deep fry until they are deep brown, turning them a few times to ensure even frying. Remove from oil and let drain.
• For the kachori, form the mashed potatoes into small balls, about 2-3 cm across. Dip the balls into the flour-based batter and carefully transfer them into the hot oil.

  Deep fry until they are golden brown, turning them a few times to ensure even frying. Remove from oil and let drain.

Urojo

• The urojo soup itself can be made while deep-frying or after.
• Mix flour, turmeric and salt in a pot on the counter (not stove).
• Add the water, a little at a time and stir to create an even mix without lumps.
• When all the water has been added, transfer to the stove and simmer on medium heat for about 15-20 minutes until the urojo has thickened.

  Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
• After 15-20 minutes, add the pre-boiled potatoes and lime or lemon juice.

Assembly

• Ladle the urojo into a bowl and add the toppings.

References