Chipsi mayai

Ingredients

Chips

• 600 gfloury potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 cm batons
• 1 litresunflower or palm oil, for frying
• 1 tspsalt

Omelette

• 5eggs
• 1small onion, finely chopped
• 1tomato, deseeded and diced
• 1green chilli, minced
• 2 tbspchopped coriander
• ½ tspsalt
• ¼ tspblack pepper
• 2 tbspof the frying oil

Kachumbari and sauce

• 2tomatoes, sliced thin
• 1red onion, sliced paper-thin and rinsed in cold water
• 1green chilli, sliced
• juice of 1 lime
• a handful of coriander
• ½ tspsalt
• 3 tbsppilipili sauce or chilli-tomato sauce
• tomato ketchup, on the side

Directions

1. Soak the cut potatoes in cold water for 10 minutes, then drain and dry them thoroughly on a cloth; wet chips will spit and never crisp.
2. Heat the oil to 150°C (300°F) and blanch the chips for 5 to 6 minutes until cooked through and pale, then lift them out and drain. They should be soft inside with no colour.
3. Raise the oil to 185°C (375°F) and fry the chips a second time for 2 to 3 minutes until golden and crisp at the edges. Drain and salt them while hot.
4. Toss the kachumbari ingredients together and leave them to sit; rinsing the onion first takes out the harshness, which is how Tanzanian cooks do it.
5. Beat the eggs with the onion, tomato, chilli, coriander, salt and pepper until just combined, not frothy.
6. Heat 2 tbsp of the frying oil in a 24 cm frying pan over medium heat and swirl to coat the base and sides.
7. Tip the hot chips into the pan and spread them into an even single layer, pressing them lightly so they interlock.
8. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the chips, tilting the pan so it runs into every gap, and cook 4 to 5 minutes over medium-low heat until the base is set and golden and the top is still slightly wet.
9. Slide it onto a plate, invert it back into the pan with a second plate, and cook the other side 3 to 4 minutes until firm, golden and set through with no runny egg in the centre.
10. Cut into wedges straight from the pan and serve hot with kachumbari piled on top, pilipili and ketchup on the side.

Technique

• Chipsi mayai is Tanzania’s true national street food, cooked to order at roadside stalls from Dar es Salaam to Arusha, and it is widely nicknamed zege, concrete, for the way the egg sets the chips into a solid slab.
• The chips must be hot and crisp when the egg goes in. Cold chips absorb egg and steam, and the omelette comes out heavy and pale.
• Stall cooks flip it in the pan with a plate rather than a spatula, because the slab holds together as one piece and a spatula tears it apart.

Substitutions

• In a hurry, shop-bought frozen chips oven-baked until very crisp will stand in, though the texture is drier.
• Palm oil gives the colour and flavour of the roadside version; sunflower is the everyday home fat.
• Grated cheese scattered over before the second side is a common upmarket addition in Dar es Salaam.

Variations

• Chipsi mayai served folded over like an omelette instead of flat, common in Arusha.
• Zege with extra chilli and a whole extra egg, ordered as a hangover cure.
• Chipsi zege topped with kachumbari and a spoonful of coconut bean stew for a full plate.

History

Chips set into a beaten omelette, nicknamed zege, concrete; a Tanzanian street-stall invention now sold on nearly every corner.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chipsi mayai?

Chipsi mayai is a street food from Tanzania: french-fry omelette doused in chili sauce, beloved everywhere. Chips set into a beaten omelette, nicknamed zege, concrete; a Tanzanian street-stall invention now sold on nearly every corner.

How long does Chipsi mayai take to make?

Chipsi mayai takes 20 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 2 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Chipsi mayai?

Yes, within limits. In a hurry, shop-bought frozen chips oven-baked until very crisp will stand in, though the texture is drier. Palm oil gives the colour and flavour of the roadside version; sunflower is the everyday home fat. Grated cheese scattered over before the second side is a common upmarket addition in Dar es Salaam.

What is the most important thing to get right in Chipsi mayai?

Soak the cut potatoes in cold water for 10 minutes, then drain and dry them thoroughly on a cloth; wet chips will spit and never crisp.