Malagasy Food

Food is always one of those topics that people are interested in when it comes to travel. And I think this is because we in the United States have somehow come to believe that our cuisine is uninteresting, practical, and pretty tasteless, a belief that I would dispute wholeheartedly. There are many foods from the United States that I wouldn’t mind right about now, and I’m thankful that I do have some American staples to keep me company and not too homesick. Peanut butter is one of them. And honestly, I think you would join me in desiring some good American cuisine when you see just how badly someone can mess up a standard American meal. But I’m here to dive into the culture the best I can. This naturally means I need to try as much Malagasy food as I can find.

Malagasy food is quite delicious, a word my students often use when describing food of any kind. There is a tradition, an art or order really, of how and what to eat in Madagascar which I have found so entertaining and enjoyable. For starters, I could summarize the entire culture of Madagascar in one word; rice, or in Malagasy vary.

The entire country runs off rice. Vary is a breakfast, lunch, and dinner food. In fact, if rice is not in the meal, it’s not really a meal. Rice is so important in Malagasy culture that there are many proverbs focused on rice. For instance:

“You can never have enough rice.” Which is their way of saying you can never have too much of a good thing.

“An ant will attack you with a grain of rice.” A proverb teaching you not to drop or waste any rice.

“If there is no rain, there is no water. If there is no water, there is no rice. If there is no rice, there is no life.” I think this one is self-explanatory.

And there you have it, 80% of all the cuisine here has been summed up in a single white grain that grows in a flooded little plot of land. The Malagasy eat more rice per capita than anywhere in the world. This is actually causing them a lot of trouble, which is, as always, a topic for another blog another day.

So every dish in Madagascar comes with rice, or primarily consists of rice. There is always a large blob of the white matter on your plate, and it is usually accompanied by what the Malagasy call laoka. The laoka is a way of saying side-dish or accompaniment. This is always some kind of meat. Vegetarianism is an anomaly in Madagascar, and many people from rural places would think you’re crazy if you were to tell them you don’t eat meat.

The meat in Madagascar is pretty standard. Chicken, pork, duck, goose, sometimes turkey, but only in certain places, and, of course, zebu meat, or beef. The zebu is the largest mammal in Madagascar. It was imported here by East Africans well over a thousand years ago. Ever since, cattle herding has been a key feature in Malagasy culture. In many places, and certainly before modernization, one’s wealth was measured in the number of zebu one had and how big one’s rice fields were.

Zebu meat is actually quite good. The cow, easily identifiable with its large fatty hump on its back, is a focal point of Malagasy history and culture. In fact, many of the problems the national and provincial governments have with the dahalo, cattle hustlers, stem from the fact that the dahalo have substantial cultural grounds for their village raiding and cattle hustling. Why do they do it? Well it’s how the ancestors have lived for over a dozen generations. In old, old Madagascar, a boy only became a man when he stole a zebu from a rival or neighboring village. That mentality persists today in many rural places. The difference is that they don’t do it with spears anymore. They bring AK-47s and shotguns.

But regional political instability aside, zebu meat is good. And the first time I made it at home I only used salt and a bit of oil. The flavor is natural and quite satisfactory. It's not too tough, but still provides a good taste.

Now the meat can be joined by something else. For instance, my favorite so far is ro mavaza, which is a type of soup/broth that the meat, sometimes both beef and chicken at the same time, is kept. There are shredded meats, small vegetable salads, and others. Anything green and leafy is called anana, and there’s no distinction between one type of anana and another. They are all simply, anana. Fruit is the local dessert or sometimes some kind of French-influenced pastry. In fact, French cuisine is fairly easy to find, and there are plenty of patisseries all over Tana.

Yet that is about it. Malagasy food can broadly be summarized as a hefty serving of vary, a choice laoka of which there are endless combinations of various meats and greens, and some kind of fruit for a sweet after taste. There isn’t much too it in theory. But honestly the food is amazing. These laoka are sometimes stunning and are always packed with flavor.

The simplicity is something I cherish. I love to make and eat extravagant foods on the occasion. I often tell people there are two types of food in the world, the kind you eat to enjoy and the kind you eat to survive. You’re lucky if those happen to be the same thing the majority of the time. But the simplicity of the Malagasy food structure, vary, laoka, and whatever extra you add, leaves open the door to new possibilities and lots of room for experiments without ever leaving the safety of a culturally established order of food. There is a creativity available with basic ingredients not necessarily like the food selection in the United States where we are expected to try all sorts of wacky and bizarre ideas just to stay ahead of the food market game. I always find it amazing what mankind can do with the simple ingredients that God gives us. It always goes back to that idea of co-creation, that we are meant to participate in the further development of the natural world around us.

Sometimes this participation is using the natural gifts, the fruits of the earth, that have been given to us that we may enhance them and pull out of them a greater essence hidden therein. There is a beautiful set of lines the Eucharistic prayer we often overlook. “For through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you; fruit of the earth and work of human hands.” The prayer goes on, but even these two lines speak a truth of how active we must be in the world, not only spiritually, but physically as well.

It’s been a pleasure to learn the landscape of Malagasy dishes. And needless to say, I will develop a taste for rice while I am here. I've already developed a strong taste for tropical fruits. My mango cutting skills are nearing towards perfection, although I am sad to say mango season is now behind us. Hopefully I will bring back some good recipes to share. As always, know that you are in my prayers each morning. All I ask is that you do the same for me.

May God be praised.