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Despite Malawi being a landlocked country, the Malawi Lake provides locals living around the lake with fish to add to their dishes. Many Malawians are farmers providing food for their families, with staples such as maize, plantain, cassava, and potatoes. A white corn flour cake called Nsima, is often the main part of the meal, with sauces served alongside it. Chambo is a freshwater fish native to Malawi Lake. These two foods served together make the Malawi National dish!
Nsima
Ingredients
Ground maize or cornflour (1 cup per serving)
Water
Instructions
Bring the water to a boil in a large pot (2 cups for 1 cup of cornmeal).
Add in around half the cornmeal to the water (one spoonful at a time). Stir consistently.
Continue to cook and stir until the mixture begins to boil. Reduce the heat to a moderate level.
As you cook over medium heat, add the remaining cornmeal, and continue to stir. It's crucial that you keep stirring until the Nsima is smooth and thick (no leftover liquid or lumps should remain).
Keep adding cornmeal until you reach the desired texture. Once that consistency is reached, turn the heat off, cover the pot and let it rest for a few minutes.
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Chambo
Ingredients
4 Tilapia fillets
Lemon juice
Flour
1 large onion chopped
2 Tablespoons Malawi curry spice blend (see recipe below)
1 cup water
1 carrot chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1/4 cup fruit chutney (see recipe below)
Instructions
Clean, salt and sprinkle fillets with lemon juice.
Roll in flour.
Heat about 4 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan and fry the fillets about 4 minutes per side and remove the fillets.
In the pan add the chopped onion and fry until translucent.
Mix in 2 Tablespoons of the Malawi curry spice blend and fry with the onions for about 2 minutes.
Add the rest of the curry spice blend along with 1 1/2 cups of water stirring so all the spice blend is nicely incorporated into the water.
Add in the chopped carrots and green pepper and turn heat to a simmer.
Simmer until the vegetables are soft about 10 minutes.
Add in the fruit chutney and stir.
Place the fillets into the saucepan and make sure they are covered by the sauce.
Close the lid and let the fish rest in the sauce for a few minutes.
Plate with lots of the sauce.
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Malawi Curry Powder
Ingredients
10 dried hot red chiles like peri peri or thai- seeds removed
3 Tablespoons coriander seeds
1 Tablespoon black peppercorns
3 Tablespoons poppy seeds
2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
1 Tablespoon cumin seeds
1 Tablespoon turmeric
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
10 whole cloves
Instructions
Place all the ingredients into a spice mill or coffee grinder and grind to a fine powder or pound in a mortar and pestle.
Store in an airtight container.
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Malawian Fruit Chutney
Ingredients
4 large fresh peaches
1 cup dried apricots
1 cup raisins
2 large red onions
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons salt
Instructions
Soak the dried apricots in boiling water just enough to cover them. Soak for a minimum of an hour.
Drain them but reserve the water and chop them into small pieces.
Peel the peaches and chop them into small chunks.
Dice the onion.
Place all the ingredients including the reserved water into a saucepan and heat for about 20 minutes until bubbly.
Reduce the heat to a simmer for about 1 hour do not cover and stir occasionally.
When it is ready, allow to cool for about 15 minutes before putting it into an air-tight quart container. Mason Jars, hot and sterilized work well for this.
The chutney is best in about two weeks’ time.
Recipes adapted from travelfoodatlas.com and internationalcuisine.com