Kaka yangu anapika kunde leo, lakini mimi ninapendelea dengu.

In Swahili, possessives normally come after the noun they describe.

So:

• kaka yangu = my brother
• literally, it is closer to brother my

This is the normal pattern in Swahili:

• kitabu changu = my book
• mwalimu wangu = my teacher
• rafiki yangu = my friend

So kaka yangu is the expected word order.

That is a very common learner question.

Even though kaka refers to a person, it commonly takes the possessive form yangu. Some nouns for people, especially words like kaka, dada, and rafiki, often behave like N-class nouns for possessives.

So you say:

• kaka yangu = my brother
• dada yangu = my sister
• rafiki yangu = my friend

But other person nouns do use wangu, for example:

• mtoto wangu = my child
• mwalimu wangu = my teacher

So this is partly something you learn word by word.

Anapika has three main parts:

• a- = he/she
• -na- = present/imperfective marker
• -pika = cook

So anapika means:

• he cooks
• he is cooking

Because kaka means brother, the natural English translation here is he is cooking.

It can mean either, depending on context.

The Swahili tense marker -na- often covers both:

• present habitual: he cooks
• present ongoing: he is cooking

In this sentence, leo = today makes the ongoing reading feel very natural:

• My brother is cooking cowpeas/beans today...

But in another context, anapika could also mean he cooks in a more general sense.

Because mimi adds emphasis or contrast.

The verb ninapendelea already contains ni-, which means I. So grammatically, mimi is not required.

You could say:

• ...lakini ninapendelea dengu.

That is still correct.

But adding mimi makes the contrast stronger:

• ...lakini mimi ninapendelea dengu.
• ...but I prefer lentils.
• almost like ...but as for me, I prefer lentils.

Ninapendelea can be broken down like this:

• ni- = I
• -na- = present/imperfective marker
• -pendelea = prefer / favor

So ninapendelea means I prefer.

In everyday speech, you may also hear the shorter form:

• napendelea

Both are used, but ninapendelea is a full, clear form and is very common in teaching materials.

Because kupenda and kupendelea are not exactly the same.

• kupenda = to like / to love
• kupendelea = to prefer / to favor

This sentence is comparing two foods:

• kunde
• dengu

So kupendelea is the more precise verb, because it shows a preference for one thing over another.

Lakini means but or however.

It connects the two parts of the sentence and shows contrast:

• Kaka yangu anapika kunde leo
• lakini mimi ninapendelea dengu

So the idea is:

• my brother is cooking one thing,
• but I prefer something else.

In this kind of sentence, they are best understood as food names or ingredients, not as single countable items.

So:

• kunde = cowpeas / beans as food
• dengu = lentils

The sentence does not mean one single bean or one single lentil. It means those foods in a general sense, like English beans or lentils.

Because Swahili does not use articles the way English does.

There is no direct equivalent of a, an, or the in ordinary noun phrases.

So Swahili often leaves definiteness to context.

For example:

• kaka yangu is naturally understood as my brother
• kunde and dengu are understood from context as kinds of food

English requires articles more often than Swahili does.

Yes. Swahili allows fairly flexible placement for time words like leo.

All of these are natural:

• Kaka yangu anapika kunde leo
• Leo kaka yangu anapika kunde
• Kaka yangu leo anapika kunde

The version in your sentence is completely normal. Putting leo at the end is a very natural way to say today here.