Tanzania | Main dish

Ugali na Nyama

Name: Ugali na Nyama
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Tanzania, East Africa
Ingredients: 2 cups white maize flour; 3 cups water; 500 g beef chuck, cubed; 2 whole onions, diced; 3 whole tomatoes, chopped; 2 whole bell peppers, diced; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 tsp curry powder; 1 cup beef stock; 1 tsp salt; ½ tsp black pepper

Tanzanian ugali na nyama, firm maize ugali served with slow-simmered beef, tomato, onion, garlic, and pepper stew.

Country

Tanzania

Region

East Africa

Time

90 min

Serves

Level

easy

Start cooking Explore Tanzania recipes

01 / Get ready

Everything you need

Tap each ingredient as you gather it. Illustrations are visual guides; follow the ingredient names and quantities.

Servings 4

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

Jump to method My cookbook

Ingredients

For 4 servings

Main dish

A few kitchen essentials

Suggested from the recipe method. Use equivalent equipment you have.

Lidded pot

Wooden spoon

02 / Let’s cook

One step at a time

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Tanzania

5 steps 15 min prep 75 min cook (check method) 90 min total easy

Brown Beef

Heat oil in a heavy pot. Season beef with salt and pepper, then sear until browned on all sides.

Sear 10:00

Cook Aromatics

Add onions and garlic, cook until softened. Add bell peppers, tomatoes, and curry powder. Stir well.

Kitchen noteCrush the tomatoes with your spoon to release their juices.

Saute 08:00

Simmer Stew

Pour in beef stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Cover and simmer until beef is fork-tender.

Kitchen noteLow heat and patience make the beef meltingly tender.

Simmer 45:00

Make Ugali

Bring 3 cups water to a boil. Gradually add maize flour, stirring vigorously until firm and pulling from sides of pot.

Cook ugali 15:00

Serve

Turn ugali onto a wet plate in a dome shape. Ladle the beef stew alongside. Serve hot.

Kitchen noteTanzanians say the stew should be thick enough to cling to the ugali, not soupy.

Every household has small variations. Start here, then adjust seasoning, heat, and serving sides to your kitchen.

Cooking notes, photos & serving ideas

Recipe context

More about this dish

Serving ideas, regional context, and cooking cues for when you want more detail.

When to cook it

Best for everyday meals. Plan on a easy cook. Allow about 90 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Kachumbari, sukuma wiki, pili pili, or avocado

Regional lane

Tanzania national table. A structured Tanzania dish in the AfroKitchen archive.

Chef watch-outs

Stopping the base before the pepper, onion, or spice edge has mellowed.
Thinning the pot before the body of the soup or stew has developed.
Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.

How you know it is ready

The sauce should coat the spoon and taste rounded, not watery or raw.
The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.

Recipe illustrations

See the dish before you cook

Take a closer look at the dish and its serving ideas.

A dome of white maize ugali beside beef, tomato and pepper stew — Ugali na Nyama finished dish · Recipe illustration

Chef board

Build the table around Ugali na Nyama

Kachumbari, sukuma wiki, pili pili, or avocado

Best route from here

Tanzania national table

Collections to keep cooking

Explore Tanzania recipes

Explore more recipes