eastern-africa
Explore 83 foods connected to Malawi, from everyday staples to rare local specialties.
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The local shortlist
10 editor-selected foods for understanding the place through what people eat.
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The full directory
83 foods in this view. Filter by category, type, rarity, or search every recorded name.
Zambia
Bondwe
Zambian dish of amaranth greens, also called African spinach; cooked with tomatoes, onions, and groundnuts; a key ingredient in ifisashi; a nutritious leafy relish served with nshima; foraged wild or grown in gardens; one of the most common vegetable relishes in Zambia; earthy and slightly bitter.
Malawi
Sweet potato cooked as a Malawian side or relish for nsima and tea.
Malawi
A Malawian fish dish cooked with tomato, onion and groundnut or leafy relish.
Malawi
Amaranth leaves (Amaranthus hybridus) cooked with tomatoes, onions, and groundnut flour into a soft, nutritious ndiwo; a widely consumed indigenous green in Malawi.
Burkina Faso
Niébé
Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), the major legume of Burkina Faso; drought-resistant and protein-rich; used in benga, gonré, and beignets; called benga in Mooré and sôsô in Dioula.
Malawi
Tilapia (Oreochromis species) from Lake Malawi, the country's most prized freshwater fish; usually grilled, fried, or cooked in a simple tomato stew and served with nsima.
Mozambique
Small triangular pastries filled with spiced minced beef, chicken or prawn and deep fried, sold three or four at a time.
Kenya
A Kenyan layered flatbread of wheat flour and oil, pan-fried, a daily and festive staple
Sfax, Tunisia
شباتي
Soft round flatbread split and packed with grilled meat, harissa, cheese and salad — a Sfax invention that spread nationally.
Botswana
Opaque sorghum and maize beer brewed commercially and sold still fermenting in cartons and plastic Scuds that must be shaken before opening.
Malawi
French fries bound with beaten egg on a hot griddle, a Malawian and East African street supper.
Malawi
Tender leaves of Bidens pilosa, a wild green with a slightly celery-like taste, cooked as a vegetable relish with tomatoes and groundnut flour; can also be eaten raw in salads.
Malawi
A Malawian snack made from groundnuts and grains, pressed or fried for market sale.
Malawi
Malawian street food of deep-fried potato chips served with grilled or stewed meat — goat, beef, or chicken — and a simple tomato-onion salad; a filling takeaway meal.
Zambia
Zambian okra dish; fresh okra cooked in water with sliced tomatoes; bicarbonate of soda added for a distinctive thick, glutinous texture; a simple relish served with nshima; the term delele denotes both the vegetable and the dish; shared with Botswana; a beloved vegetable relish across Zambia.
Malawi
A traditional Malawian pottage of starchy vegetables — pumpkin, sweet potato, cassava, or green bananas — boiled until tender and bound with groundnut flour into a thick, nourishing mash; a rustic, filling dish.
Rwanda
Thin porridge made from sorghum or maize flour, cooked with water or milk into a drinkable consistency; eaten for breakfast, sometimes sweetened with sugar; called 'the wonder dish' in Rwandan media for its nutritional value.
Malawi
A potent traditional Malawian spirit distilled from indigenous fruits such as masau (jujube), baobab, or maize; a strong, often home-made liquor with a fiery character.
Malawi
Small, colourful haplochromine cichlids from Lake Malawi that now make up the bulk of many inshore catches; usually sun-dried, fried, or used to enrich relishes.
Malawi
A large predatory catfish (Bagrus meridionalis) from Lake Malawi, now critically endangered but highly prized; fillets are deep-fried or barbecued and served on special occasions.
Zambia
Small sardine-type fish from Lake Tanganyika and Lake Kariba; caught in nets, salted, and sun-dried on racks; a very important food and income source for many Zambians; fried until crispy or stewed with onions, tomatoes, and chili; salty, intense, and flavorful; served with nshima; a TasteAtlas-listed must-try.
Malawi
Matemba
Small freshwater sardines netted at night on Lake Kariba under lamps, sun-dried on racks and then fried with tomato and onion.
Malawi
Finely ground roasted peanuts used throughout Malawi to thicken stews, bind futali, and enrich vegetable relishes; a primary source of protein and flavour.
Malawi
Pumpkin or squash cooked into a sweet-savoury Malawian side dish.
Malawi
A sticky, very stiff cassava-flour porridge from northern Malawi, stirred vigorously until tough and elastic; resembles nsima but has a more neutral, chewy character and is normally eaten with fish.
Malawi
A local Malawian lager enjoyed with grilled food and market meals.
Malawi
A nutritious Malawian porridge blend of maize and soy or groundnut flour.
South Africa
Mageu
A traditional South African fermented maize-meal drink, sweet and tangy
Malawi
The dry white pulp of the baobab (Adansonia digitata) fruit, called malambe in Malawi; naturally tangy and very high in vitamin C, used in juice, ice lollies, sweets, and porridge.
Malawi
Arabica and Robusta coffee grown by smallholder cooperatives in the highlands of Malawi; a small but growing specialty crop with bright, fruity notes.
Malawi
A local gin style distilled and mixed into drinks in Malawi.
Malawi
Black tea from the Shire Highlands of Malawi, the first country in Africa to plant tea commercially; full-bodied and brisk, often drunk with milk and sugar.
Malawi
Malawian fried doughnuts made from wheat flour, coconut milk, baking powder, egg, sugar, and cardamom, fried until puffed and golden; a common breakfast and market snack.
Kenya
Mahamri
A Kenyan sweet fried dough, golden and puffy, served with chai, a daily and street classic
Malawi
Ziziphus mauritiana, a wild jujube fruit called masau in Malawi; small, crisp, and sweet-to-subacid, eaten fresh or processed into chips, powder, fruit leather, and beverages.
Zimbabwe
Small jujube-like fruit from the Zambezi valley, eaten fresh, dried, or fermented into a strong local brew during the Muzeze festival.