Ama tutapika dengu na mihogo nyumbani, ama tutanunua chipsi na kuku sokoni.

It means either ... or ....

So:

• Ama tutapika ...
• ama tutanunua ...

sets up two alternatives. This is a very common way to present a choice in Swahili.

You may also see au for or, but ama ... ama ... is especially clear when you want to say either this, or that.

Tutapika can be broken down like this:

• tu- = we
• -ta- = future tense marker, will
• pika = cook

So tutapika means we will cook.

This pattern is very common in Swahili verbs:

• tutanunua = we will buy
• tutaenda = we will go
• tutakula = we will eat

In Swahili, the subject is usually built into the verb itself.

So instead of saying a separate word for we before the verb, Swahili uses the subject marker tu- inside the verb:

• tu-ta-pika = we will cook
• tu-ta-nunua = we will buy

A separate pronoun like sisi (we) can be added for emphasis, but it is not necessary.

For example:

• Sisi tutapika = We will cook (with extra emphasis on we)

Na usually means and.

In this sentence it links nouns:

• dengu na mihogo = lentils and cassava
• chipsi na kuku = chips/fries and chicken

In other contexts, na can also mean with, so learners often have to rely on context.

Examples:

• chai na maziwa = tea with milk / tea and milk
• Juma na Asha = Juma and Asha

Muhogo is singular and mihogo is plural.

This is a noun class pattern in Swahili:

• singular: muhogo
• plural: mihogo

So mihogo means cassavas or more naturally just cassava, depending on context.

English often does not show this kind of plural marking the same way for food items, so the best translation may simply be cassava even though the Swahili form is plural.

Because some Swahili nouns have the same form in both singular and plural.

Kuku is one of them:

• kuku = chicken
• kuku = chickens

The meaning is understood from context.

So in this sentence, chipsi na kuku could mean chips/fries and chicken, which sounds natural in English as a food combination.

In East African Swahili, chipsi usually means French fries.

So:

• chipsi na kuku = fries and chicken

A native English speaker may be confused because chips in British and American English can refer to different foods, but in everyday Swahili usage chipsi commonly refers to fried potato strips, like fries.

Both are location expressions, and both contain the locative ending -ni.

• nyumbani = at home
• sokoni = at the market / in the market

The -ni ending often marks a place or location.

Other examples:

• shuleni = at school
• ofisini = in the office
• mezani = on the table

So in this sentence:

• nyumbani tells where the cooking would happen
• sokoni tells where the buying would happen

The sentence follows a very common Swahili order:

• connector
• subject + tense + verb
• object
• place

So:

• Ama tutapika dengu na mihogo nyumbani
• ama tutanunua chipsi na kuku sokoni

This is quite similar to English in many cases:

• Either we will cook lentils and cassava at home
• or we will buy fries and chicken at the market

So the word order here is not especially unusual for an English speaker.

Swahili does not normally use articles like a, an, or the.

That means a noun like kuku can mean:

• a chicken
• the chicken
• just chicken

depending on context.

The same applies to:

• dengu
• mihogo
• chipsi
• sokoni

You understand the exact meaning from the situation, not from an article.

Yes, you may hear or see alternatives, but ama ... ama ... is a neat and natural pairing for either ... or ....

For example, speakers might also say things like:

• Tutapika nyumbani au tutanunua sokoni.
• Ama tutapika nyumbani, au tutanunua sokoni.

But in your sentence, repeating ama gives a balanced either/or structure.

The comma is helpful, but it is mainly punctuation for clarity.

It separates the two alternatives:

• Ama tutapika ... nyumbani,
• ama tutanunua ... sokoni.

In writing, this makes the sentence easier to read. In speech, the pause may be slight, but the meaning is still clear even without a strong pause.

Yes.

In the first clause:

• tutapika = verb
• dengu na mihogo = what will be cooked

In the second clause:

• tutanunua = verb
• chipsi na kuku = what will be bought

Then the place expressions come after that:

• nyumbani
• sokoni

So the structure is:

• verb + thing(s) + place

Yes, it sounds natural and straightforward.

It uses very common vocabulary and grammar:

• ama ... ama ... for alternatives
• future tense with -ta-
• ordinary food nouns
• common location forms like nyumbani and sokoni

A speaker might choose slightly different words depending on region or style, but the sentence itself is normal and easy to understand.