Apple Bread

Let me tell you something, I love bread...the aromas of freshly baked bread drives me nuts. I stumbled on this apple bread over a year ago in one of the Facebook groups, I saw that the lady got it from somewhere else and on..and on...I am not sure where this Apple bread had originated from and if its called Apple bread at all! The most important thing is its delicious , its actually more like a cake, If I may say so..half bread half cake...delightful with an evening tea or perfect for brunch. I have made few changes to it and here's my version.

 

1 ½ cups all purpose flour
3 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
¼ cup melted butter = 57g
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon instant yeast
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 apples
1 tablespoon icing sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

 

Warm up the milk in a small bowl(microwave or stove)  and then  sprinkle the yeast, 1 tablespoon of sugar and 4 tablespoons of flour( 2 tablespoons at a time and stir) until combined, cover it with towel and leave it for 20 min.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Meanwhile ,place the eggs in a large bowl or electric mixer ( leave little egg white for egg wash later) add sugar  and beat on high speed for 3/5 mins until very thick

 

 

Then add vanilla, rest of the flour, salt, melted butter and yeast mixture- with paddle attachment - beating it for around 5 min. scrape the sides to make sure is everything well combined, cover it with towel and leave it for 2 hours.

 

After 2 hours, spray the cake pan, then transfer the dough into the pan, spray some oil in your hands, to spread the batter because it’s so sticky, cover it with towel and set aside while preparing apples.

Now peel the apples, cut it to slices are not too not too thin (squeeze little lemon juice to prevent them from darkening ), until enough to make decoration, arrange the apples beside each other. Add little water to the egg white and brush the apples and then sprinkle some cinnamon

 

 Bake in a preheated oven of  350F ( 180 C) , bake it for 35 – 30 min.

Once done let it cool for about 15 mins and sprinkle powdered sugar…ready to serve

  

Zanzibar Food Culture

Zanzibari cuisine is very mystical it reflects several heterogeneous influences, as a consequence of the multi-cultural and multi-ethnic nature of Zanzibar's and Swahili heritage. It mixes tastes and traditions of Africa, Bantu, Arab,Portuguese,Indian and a touch of British as well. 

Most of the dishes cooked in every Zanzibari home are somehow adapted from one of the many cultures on daily basis, the chapatis and curries are adapted from the Indian subcontinent , the Pilau (aromatic rice with lots of flavorful spices and not to forget the Biriani/Biriyani which I believe is a mixture of Indian and Arabic influence. The Bokoboko and the Shurba in my opinion is from Yemen. We also share similarities with dishes such as Muhogo (Tapioka/Cassava) and ndizi mbichi ( green plantains) with nearby islands of Comoros, Madagascar and Sychelles...and the list goes on.

Although preparations of many dishes may be adapted from various cultures, Zanzibar cuisine has developed its own unique niche with the blend of coconut cream which plays a very significant role due its obvious abundance.

Sea food is widely consumed be it grilled, boiled, porched or cooked in a flavorful and aromatic coconut sauce. "Samaki wa kupaka" is a favorite delicacy,  it is fish smothered in spicy coconut sauce and grilled in charcoal. The octopus and the calamaris have made their presence mostly as upgraded street food at Forodhani garden, where you will also find an array of finger foods such as katlessi, kabab, sambusa, kachoris etc. 
Forodhani garden is a park facing the Indian ocean with an open air night food market " a must visit" place in Zanzibar whereby every tourist as well as the locals retire their day by spending the evenings devouring Zanzibar food at its best under the sunset.  

I do not own the rights of the picture on this post , it belongs to a dear friend of mine who lives in Arizona, this is how she entertains her guests with such wide variety of delicious food...see what am talking about!!!!