What Malagasy food is like
Madagascar’s food reflects the island’s mixed history. Settlers arrived from Southeast Asia and from East Africa, and later influences came from India, the Arab world, China and France. The result is a cuisine built on rice, with ginger, garlic, onion, tomato and chili as common flavors.
Names and recipes differ by region, so the dishes below are typical examples rather than fixed rules.
Rice and laoka: how a meal works
The center of most meals is vary, or rice, often eaten more than once a day. It is served with laoka, the accompaniment, which may be a stew, a piece of fish or meat, or greens. Condiments such as sakay, a chili, garlic and ginger paste, are put on the table for people to add themselves.
In drier parts of the south, maize or cassava can take the place of rice.
Romazava, the national dish
Romazava is widely described as Madagascar’s national dish. It is a brothy stew of beef (traditionally zebu) with leafy greens, tomato, onion and ginger. The greens, known as brèdes, often include a leaf called paracress, which has a tingling, mouth-numbing effect. Outside Madagascar, cooks often substitute spinach, arugula, kale or mustard greens.
A simple home method
- Brown bite-sized pieces of beef in a little oil.
- Add chopped onion, garlic, ginger and tomato, then a splash of water.
- Cover and simmer until the meat is tender. Time depends on the cut.
- Stir in a mix of greens and cook until just wilted.
- Season with salt and serve over rice, with sakay on the side.
Other famous dishes
- Ravitoto: pounded cassava leaves cooked with pork or sometimes beef and garlic, served with rice.
- Vary amin’anana: a rice and greens soup or porridge, commonly eaten for breakfast or a light meal.
- Hen’omby ritra: beef simmered with ginger, garlic and tomato.
- Akoho sy voanio: chicken in coconut milk, common in coastal areas.
- Trondro gasy: fish cooked in a tomato sauce with onion and garlic, often with greens, served over rice.
- Lasopy: a vegetable soup, served with bread and sakay.
- Kabaro: a bean stew, sometimes made with curry spices.
Street food and snacks
- Masikita: skewers of grilled zebu or beef, usually with a spicy sauce.
- Mofo gasy: small, slightly sweet rice-flour cakes cooked in molds over charcoal, commonly eaten at breakfast with coffee or tea.
- Mofo sakay: spicy savory fritters made with chili, and in some versions greens.
- Koba: a sweet steamed snack made from ground peanuts, sugar and rice flour, wrapped in leaves.
- Bonbon coco: chewy coconut sweets.
- Fried snacks and fruit sold at roadsides and markets.
Sakay and salads
Sakay is the heat on the Malagasy table, mixing chili, garlic and ginger. Fresh salads such as lasary voatabia (tomato and onion) and lasary avocat (avocado) are common sides.
Drinks and sweets
- Ranon’apango is water boiled with the toasted crust of rice from the bottom of the pot, drunk as a mild everyday beverage.
- Madagascar is known for vanilla and cocoa, used in desserts and in chocolate made on the island.
- Local rum, rice-based spirits and fruit juices are also common, and French-style pastries and bread are popular in towns, a legacy of the colonial era; for the originals, see our guide to popular food in Paris.
Madagascar food FAQ
What are the top 3 most popular foods?
Opinions differ, but rice with laoka, romazava and ravitoto are frequently mentioned as the most characteristic.
What is the national dish of Madagascar?
Romazava, a beef and greens stew eaten with rice, is the dish most often given this title.
What are some popular street foods in Madagascar?
Masikita skewers, mofo gasy, mofo sakay and koba are all commonly named.
Are Malagasy people considered Black?
Malagasy people are a diverse population with ancestry from both Southeast Asia and Africa, and many also have other ancestry. Identity is personal and varies, so it is best not to generalize.
Keep exploring African food
For another rice-and-sauce tradition, see our overview of Mali food, or compare a meat-centered cuisine in recipes from Namibia.