country Essentials · 12 foods
Madagascar Essentials
A considered first route through Madagascar: the foods that carry its everyday habits, celebrations, ingredients, and memory.
Explore all Madagascar foods →THE
ESSENTIALS
The complete shortlist
12 foods to know.
Each selection includes the reason it belongs here—so this is a guide, not just a pile of names.
Madagascar
Romazava
Beef broth with leafy greens whose paracress leaves leave a distinctive tingling finish.
Madagascar
Ravitoto
Pounded cassava leaves cooked with pork belly, one of Madagascar's old royal dishes.
Madagascar
Mofo Gasy
Fermented rice batter cooked in iron hollows as a Malagasy breakfast market cake.
Madagascar
Kitoza
Zebu strips smoked or sun-dried, grilled and eaten beside soupy morning rice.
Madagascar
Sakay
Chili and ginger paste placed beside rice and grilled foods on Malagasy tables.
Madagascar
Ranovola
Toasted rice crust boiled with water into the free drink served after Malagasy meals.
Madagascar
Koba Akondro
Peanut, banana and honey steamed in leaves, sliced into a dense Malagasy sweet.
Madagascar
Malagasy Vanilla
Lavanila
Cured vanilla from Madagascar's northeast, prized for its floral aroma and long finish.
Madagascar
Voanjobory
Bambara groundnuts stewed with pork until tender but still holding their shape.
Madagascar
Three Horses Beer
Madagascar's best-known local beer, kept uncommon as a cultural product landmark.
Madagascar
Vary Sosoa
Loose rice porridge served at breakfast with dried zebu or a savoury relish.
Madagascar
Malagasy Lychee
Litchi
Fresh lychees picked near Madagascar's east coast during the short December season.