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Tanzanian

Zanzibar pizza

Non-vegetarian

Paper-thin dough wrapped around spiced minced beef, egg, onion, pepper and soft cheese, folded into a square parcel and griddle-fried until crisp. The signature snack of Stone Town's night market.

Zanzibar pizza is a Tanzanian street food, ready in about 1 hour 20 minutes and made with all-purpose flour, ground beef and egg. It serves 4 and is rated intermediate to cook.

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Prep
25 min
Cook
25 min
Rest
30 min
Total
1 h 20 min
Serves
4
Level
Intermediate
Calories
600

Ingredients

4 pizzas

Dough

Filling

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Knead the flour, water, 1 tbsp oil and half the salt into a soft, smooth dough. Divide into 4 balls, coat with the remaining oil and rest, covered.

    • 10 min
    Hands kneading dough on a floured surface
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Fry the beef with the onion (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab), curry powder (opens in a new tab) and the rest of the salt until browned and dry. Stir in the pepper and tomato (opens in a new tab) and cool slightly.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    On an oiled surface, stretch each dough ball with your fingertips until paper-thin (about 30 cm).

    • 5 min

    Small tears do not matter once it is folded.

  4. Step 4

    Put a quarter of the beef in the centre, crack over an egg (opens in a new tab), add a spoon of cheese and mayonnaise (opens in a new tab), then fold the four sides over to make a sealed square.

    • 5 min

  5. Step 5

    Fry on an oiled griddle, seam side down first, pressing lightly, until golden and crisp on both sides and the egg (opens in a new tab) inside is set.

    Food safety: Cook until the egg inside is fully set.

    A flatbread cooking on a hot griddle
    How it looks · Photo: Muhammad Khawar Nazir on Pexels

  6. Step 6

    Cut into squares and serve hot with chilli sauce (opens in a new tab).

      A finished dish being plated
      How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

    About this dish

    Origin
    Zanzibar (Stone Town), Tanzania · Commonly attributedDespite the name it is closer to a stuffed griddle bread than an Italian pizza.More food from Tanzania
    Dish
    Dinner · Snack · Street food · Finger food
    Cooking method
    Pan-fried
    Taste
    savoury, creamy, spicy (chilli heat)
    Diet
    No nut ingredients · High-protein
    All labelsNon-vegetarian · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · High-protein
    Without the optional extras: No added sugarWith the listed swaps: Beef-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
    Good for
    Street food
    Cook more with
    All-purpose flour · Ground beef · Egg · Onion · Green bell pepper · Tomato
    Techniques
    Pan-frying · Kneading

    Allergens

    • Contains: Milkfrom cream cheese
    • Contains: Eggsfrom egg, mayonnaise
    • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
    • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour
    • May contain: Mustardfrom curry powder, mayonnaise
    • May contain: Celeryfrom curry powder

    Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

    Nutrition

    600 kcal per serving

    Calculated

    1 serving ≈ 314 g · recipe makes 4

    Where the energy comes from

    • Protein 18%
    • Carbohydrate 37%
    • Fat 46%
    Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
    NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
    Energy600 kcal191 kcal
    Protein26.2 g8.3 g
    Carbohydrate54.3 g17.3 g
    Net carbohydrate51.2 g16.3 g
    Sugars3.3 g1 g
    Added sugars0 g0 g
    Fibre3.1 g1 g
    Fat30.3 g9.6 g
    Saturated fat9.1 g2.9 g
    Trans fat——
    Cholesterol244 mg78 mg
    Sodium748 mg238 mg
    Salt equivalent1.9 g0.6 g
    Vitamins & minerals per serving
    Potassium
    492 mg
    Calcium
    83 mg
    Iron
    5.4 mg
    Magnesium
    42 mg
    Vitamin A (RAE)
    144 µg
    Vitamin C
    19 mg
    Vitamin D
    1.1 µg
    Vitamin B12
    1.8 µg
    Folate (DFE)
    222 µg

    How these numbers were made

    • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
    • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
    • Optional ingredients are not included: mayonnaise, chilli sauce (sriracha-style).
    • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
    • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

    Good to know

    Tips

    • Oil your hands and the work surface generously — the dough should stretch almost see-through without sticking.

    Common mistakes

    • Overfilling: the thin dough tears and the egg leaks onto the griddle.

    Food safety

    • Cook the minced beef until no pink remains (71 °C) before filling; cook until the egg inside is fully set.

    Storage

    • Best eaten immediately.

    Variations

    • Sweet Zanzibar pizza: Fill with sliced banana, chocolate spread or mango and a little condensed milk.

    Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

    Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

    Recipe DNA

    How this dish is built

    Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

    The spice and seasoning backbone

    Spices, masalas & pastes

    Used in steps 1, 2

    Masalas in this recipe

    Make the masala first, then come back to finish the dish.

    Baker’s notes

    Customise in Bread & Bakery

    Timeline and readiness cues

    1. Mix and knead · about 30 min

      Knead until smooth and soft; it should feel like an earlobe.

    2. Rest · about 30 min

      Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

    3. Bake · about 20 min

      Puffed with golden-brown spots on both sides.

    4. Start to finish: about 1 h 20 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

    The dough

    The dough in baker's percentages. Flour = 100%.
    IngredientRoleWeightBaker’s %
    All-purpose flourFlour250 g100%
    WaterWater150 g60%
    Neutral vegetable oilFat41 g16.3%
    Total flour
    250 g
    Hydration
    60%
    With milk, eggs…
    60%
    Wholegrain
    0%

    Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.

    • Medium dough (55–65%) — soft and easy to knead; sandwich loaves and rolls.
    • Fat 16.3% — a rich, tender dough.

    If something goes wrong

    • Pale crust

      Likely causes

      • Oven too cool
      • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
      • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

      What to do

      • Check the oven with a thermometer
      • Brush with egg wash or milk
      • Shorten the fermentation
    • Burnt bottom

      Likely causes

      • Tray too close to the heat
      • Dark tray absorbs more heat
      • Too much sugar in the dough

      What to do

      • Bake on the middle shelf
      • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
      • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
    • Crust too hard or thick

      Likely causes

      • Baked too long at too low a temperature
      • No steam at the start

      What to do

      • Bake hotter for a shorter time
      • Add steam for the first 15 minutes (tray of boiling water, or a covered Dutch oven)
      • Cool under a tea towel for a softer crust

    Reviews & corrections

    Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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