Meals in Madagascar vary depending on the region (highlands or coastal areas) and where you eat: in the streets or markets, in hotely (small, popular Malagasy restaurants), or in more traditional restaurants. In Madagascar, you’ll enjoy a relatively varied and sometimes surprising culinary experience, reflecting the diversity of this big island. In fact, you can eat well in Madagascar, and sometimes even very well.
The delights of Central Madagascar
Central Malgache, especially the Highlands, is known for its traditional, comforting dishes. You can enjoy typical Malagasy meals in a hotely (small local restaurant) or at a home-stay. Malagasy cuisine revolves around a large plate of rice, a precious cereal that accounts for 60% of the Malagasy people’s daily diet. This staple, rice, is systematically served with a variety of dishes. Romazava is one of the most emblematic dishes: a meat stew (often beef or chicken) with brèdes (edible leaves sometimes derived from sweet potatoes or wild plants with a variety of tastes pungent, bitter, irritating, etc.) and local spices. Ravitoto, another well-known traditional dish, consists of mashed cassava leaves cooked simply with pork or zebu.
Locals also enjoy vary amin’anana for breakfast, a rice broth with green vegetables and meat, often accompanied by a slice of deep-fried seasoned meat known locally as kitoza, or a piece of sausage.
Sambos (or samosas) are small fried turnovers filled with meat, vegetables, or fish, served as a snack or appetizer. Finally, desserts based on rice, such as koba a cake made from rice flour, banana, and cane sugar are very popular in the Talata Volonondry region. We could also mention other dishes such as eel with pork (amalona sy hena kisoa) and pork with cape peas (hena kisoa sy voanjobory), dishes often reserved for Madagascar’s upper social classes.
Flavors of the Madagascar Coast
The Malagasy coast also offers a cuisine rich in seafood and tropical produce, with a wide variety of specialties. Wherever you are on the coast, you can feast on freshwater fish and shellfish (tilapia, eel, crayfish), as well as abundant seafood. On the beaches and in local restaurants, tuna, sea bream, and captain’s bream in sauce or simply grilled will delight your palate. Don’t forget to try shrimp, prawns, lobsters, mussels, and sea urchins, as there’s something for everyone in both the south and north of the island.
Preparations based on coconut milk or vanilla are also widespread along Madagascar’s coasts. Coconut seafood and coconut ravitoto are particularly delicious on the northeast coast, especially in Sainte-Marie. Game, in season from April to September, is very popular with hunting enthusiasts, especially in the Mahajanga region.
In addition to Malagasy dishes, cuisines from elsewhere are also very present on the coast, particularly in northern Madagascar, where you’ll find Indian, Moroccan, Italian, Chinese and French specialties. With a little curiosity and a desire to discover, you’ll find nuggets in local markets and restaurants.
In the streets, you can also enjoy tasty meals based on masikita (zebu kebabs), samosas, grilled manioc and fried bananas, accompanied by local mango achards.
Madagascar Spices: An aromatic treasure
Malagasy cuisine is famous for its spices, which enrich local dishes with intense, fragrant flavors. Madagascar vanilla, considered one of the best in the world, is used in many desserts as well as to flavor savory dishes such as stews and sauces. Madagascar wild pepper (or voatsiperifery) is a rare pepper with complex aromas, often used to season meat and fish dishes. Cloves are another precious spice, used in cooking and for their medicinal properties. Cinnamon and cardamom are also commonly used to flavor dishes and drinks. These spices are not just cooking ingredients but also important export products for the island’s economy, contributing to Madagascar’s worldwide reputation.
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