Mpishi wa mkahawa huu hupika wali wa uduvi kwa kutumia samli kidogo.

wa is a connector that often means of or links two nouns together.

• mpishi wa mkahawa huu = the cook of this restaurant
• wali wa uduvi = rice with prawns / prawn rice literally rice of prawns

This connector changes form depending on the noun class, but here it appears as wa in both phrases.

mpishi means cook.

It comes from the verb -pika = to cook.
The prefix m- is often used to form a person noun, so:

• -pika = cook
• mpishi = one who cooks, a cook

So this is a very common way Swahili creates words for people who do an action.

In Swahili, demonstratives like this usually come after the noun, not before it.

So:

• mkahawa huu = this restaurant
• literally: restaurant this

That is normal Swahili word order.

Because mkahawa belongs to the m-/mi- noun class in the singular, and nouns in that class take the demonstrative huu for this.

For example:

• mti huu = this tree
• mto huu = this river
• mkahawa huu = this restaurant

Swahili demonstratives must agree with the noun class of the noun they describe.

hupika usually has a habitual meaning. It suggests something like:

• cooks regularly
• usually cooks
• tends to cook

The hu- marker often shows a habitual or general action rather than something happening right now.

So:

• anapika = he/she is cooking
• hupika = he/she usually cooks

In this sentence, hupika tells you this is something the cook normally does.

Yes, but the meaning would change.

• hupika = usually cooks / habitually cooks
• anapika = is cooking / cooks in a more immediate or current sense

So the original sentence sounds more like a general statement about what this cook does.
If you used anapika, it would sound more like you are talking about what the cook is doing now, or in a specific situation.

Literally, wali wa uduvi is rice of prawns.

Swahili often uses noun + connector + noun where English might use a compound noun or adjective-like noun:

• chai ya tangawizi = ginger tea
• supu ya kuku = chicken soup
• wali wa uduvi = prawn rice

So instead of building one compound word, Swahili commonly links the nouns with a connector like wa or ya.

uduvi refers to prawns/shrimp as a food item or kind of seafood. In a phrase like wali wa uduvi, it works much like an ingredient noun in English, where number is not the main focus.

So the phrase is understood naturally as:

• rice with prawns
• prawn rice
• possibly shrimp rice, depending on the variety of English

You do not need to force a separate English-style plural idea into it every time.

kwa kutumia means by using or using.

It is made of:

• kwa = by, with, by means of
• kutumia = to use / using

Together they form a very common expression for describing method:

• kwa kutumia mafuta = by using oil
• kwa kutumia kisu = by using a knife
• kwa kutumia samli kidogo = by using a little ghee

So this part explains how the cook prepares the dish.

After kwa, Swahili often uses the infinitive form of the verb, the form with ku-.

So:

• kutumia = to use / using

This is similar to English expressions like by using. It is not a fully conjugated verb like anatumia or hutumia. Instead, it functions more like a verbal noun or infinitive after the preposition.

samli kidogo means a little ghee or a small amount of ghee.

Here kidogo means a little / a small amount. In this kind of expression, it often works more like a quantity word than a normal agreeing adjective.

So:

• samli kidogo = a little ghee
• maji kidogo = a little water
• sukari kidogo = a little sugar

This is a very common and useful pattern in everyday Swahili.

Good question. -dogo as an adjective normally agrees with the noun class, so with some nouns you would expect forms like ndogo, dogo, kidogo, and so on.

But in samli kidogo, kidogo is not really describing the ghee as physically small. It means a little or a small amount, so it behaves more like a fixed quantity expression.

That is why learners often see:

• maji kidogo = a little water
• chakula kidogo = a little food
• samli kidogo = a little ghee

So think of kidogo here as a little, not simply small.

This is a very natural order in Swahili:

• Mpishi wa mkahawa huu = subject
• hupika = verb
• wali wa uduvi = object
• kwa kutumia samli kidogo = method

So the structure is basically:

Subject + Verb + Object + How/Means

That makes the sentence clear and idiomatic.

Usually wali means cooked rice or rice as a prepared dish, not uncooked rice grains.

So in this sentence, wali wa uduvi is understood as a rice dish, not raw rice.

This is similar to how many food words in Swahili refer naturally to the prepared food unless context says otherwise.