Mtori: Banana Soup from Tanzania

In Northern Tanzania the Green Banana or Plantain is eaten more than any other starch food and is, interestingly, the only staple food in the world that is not grain or a root vegetable. There are many variety of banana - a plantation close to us has over thirty varieties. Many if my neighbors grow banana or plantain - usually growing more than one variety. I love the yellow soft Ugandan variety called Matoki. Unfortunately for me this is not preferred by the Chagga tribe, who are dominant here in Arusha. They prefer the firmer plantain called Mshali.

The Banana Tree is not really a tree at all, it is a herb; in fact the worlds tallest herb. It is mainly water held together by sticky greenery. The tree takes about 18 months to grow and fruit and is simply chopped down with two or three swift chops from a sharp panga. The tree or 'herb' produces a huge purple flower and then yields one very large crop of bananas on a single stem.

The sticky white resin that bleeds from the tree and the severed stem must be avoided; should it get onto clothes it stains and does not come out. Removing the skins is an art. Many of my African friends make it look so easy, a skill gained with practice I suppose. Remember to put oil onto your hands before removing plantain skins as the resin stains your hands black and is hard work to remove. Scrape all traces of back resin from the plantain before cooking

Mtori soup, made from plantain, is usually eaten for breakfast. Bellow is a recipe for this thick banana and meat stew.

This would usually be cooked over an open fire in a clay pot called a chungu - all the ingredients would be cooked in the pot at the same time. Once the cooking has finished the meat would be removed, cut into small chunks [fat and gristle is not discarded] and then reheated in the soup.

Mtori

1 kilo beef short ribs

2 teaspoons salt

10 Plantain [green banana] peeled and sliced

4 medium-sized (King Edward) potatoes - peeled

2 medium onions, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 Tbs. butter

Put the s ribs, enough cold water, and salt in a large casserole pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim the foam and scum as they rise to the surface. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 1-1/2 hours.

Add the plantains, potatoes, and onions, and continue simmering for another 30 minutes, or until the meat is tender and the potatoes can be mashed.

Remove the short ribs from the pot. Remove the meat from the bones and cut away the fat and gristle, and discard. Cut the meat into bite-size pieces.

Purée the soup and vegetables. Return the purée to the pot, add the meat, and stir in the butter. Adjust seasoning - Enjoy.
Coconut milk is sometimes added toward the end of cooking to make the soup even richer.

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Luxury Safari Experience at Elegant Londolozi Private Game Lodge

Relais & Chateaux is I am sure known to you as a quality focused branding of superior properties worldwide. Well this is correct but let's take a deeper look into why we selected to support their 22 properties in southern Africa. Correlation with our philosophy of providing exceptional overall experiences for our clients is a great place to start. As specialized travel operators, we need to ensure each aspect of your experience under our gambit is top notch. The five C's that guide each property epitomize this - Courtesy, Charm, Character, Calm and Cuisine. We would add highly trained and motivated staff and management, superb locations and unwavering attention to detail to these five C's. All of this adds up to brand Claire & Colin property selection! So armed with a constant supply of effervescent reliability, where can we send you ?

Their spread covers a city hotel here in Bantry Bay, Cape Town ( Ellerman House ), seaside properties in Hermanus ( The Marine ) through to the Garden Route then up to some of our finest safari & wildlife properties found in South Africa plus an interesting new addition to be found in the south eastern region of Zimbabwe ( Pamushana ). Properties range from a discrete polo property ( Kurlands ), the inimitable Cellars- Hohenort in the rich green hills of our southern suburbs to overt opulence to be found on the border of South Africa & Mozambique in the form of Singita Lebombo & Sweni Lodges. It is however Londolozi Private Game Reserve that we find urges of deep reckoning to share with you here....

Positioned within the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, recognized to house the highest concentration of cats (lion, leopard & cheetah) in the world, we find the combination of the irrepressible energy and vision of the Varty & Taylor family blending with eighty years of pioneering sustainable, community involvement within our safari and wildlife experience a heady and most attractive mix. Conservation, preservation, a light human footprint, sustainability. Passionate, driven, able and willing. Where do we start. Forget the number of suites, the various lodge names are important yes but for us the core reason behind our selection of Londolozi Private Game Reserve within the Relais & Chateaux stable is two fold.

They have stood the test of time within the tough, competitive high end safari circuit and not only this have over the last two years reinvented, reinvigorated and regenerated Londolozi Private Game Reserve to a higher level of conservation through a number of invaluable initiatives. Secondly, the caliber of ranger and tracker to be found within Londolozi Private Game Reserve is the envy of Africa. No less than four Master trackers reside here. A Master tracker is as close to the ethereal in human form possible.

He lives within Mother Nature, holds her in the highest respect, hears her voice and brings the language of trees, grasses and so much more into your lives on game drives and the far more impressionable game walks. Imagine for a moment the effect of photographing lion cubs at play, witnessing a dominant male pride leader, surrounded by his bevy of female attendees enjoying the bounty of their kill, catching his sight full eye looking directly through you from twenty feet away, internalize the effect of sitting around a small but convivial fire at night, surrounded by the sounds of Mother Nature going about her way of life and feeling completely and utterly at one with the moment. Yes, awesome.

Nelson Mandela stayed at Londolozi Private Game Reserve. The word Londolozi is derived from a Zulu word and means "to protect". Today, guests at Londolozi Private Game Reserve will experience family tradition of three generations, work in progress towards respecting the will and want of Mother Nature tomorrow and for the distant future. Claire & I salute our colleagues in the bush who saw what had to be done eighty years ago and continue to conserve our national heritage going on for the next three generations.

Londolozi Private Game Reserve exemplifies our focus on responsible tourism, take a look at their web site and feel our passion for Our Africa.

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