Madagascar

 Welcome to Madagascar!  Madagascar is a huge island, and is the 46th largest country in the world.  It is home to the lemur, which is a favorite animal of my Nifty Nephew.  My dearest friend has family who are live in Madagascar and work with a maternity center and an organization called Red Island Restoration.  Pretty cool!  Madagascar is home to about 5% of the worlds plant and animal population, and of those plants and animals, 80% of them are native to Madagascar!  Sounds like a place I would like to visit...According to Google, their population is 29.61 million people and their capital is Antananarivo.  Their national dish is...

 

Romazava!

This is a stew that is served over rice.  Let me tell you, it is quite hearty!  To go with the Romazava we made Koba Ravina, which did not look great to me as I am not a fan of bananas. We ate the meal over rice. Here's what we did:

ROMAZAVA

2 tbsp avocado oil
1 lb stew meat, cut into about 2 inch pieces
1 lb pork loin, cut into about inch-and-a-half pieces

4 chicken thighs, cut into about inch-and-a-half pieces
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 cups beef stock
1 large yellow onion, sliced
5 cloves garlic, sliced

2 1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
3 serrano chilies, diced
1 bunch mustard greens, shredded
1 bunch arugula leaves, chopped
1 bunch spinach leaves, chopped

1. Heat the oil in a large pot and brown the stew meat.
2. Once all the beef is browned, add tomatoes, stock, chilies, ginger, onions, and garlic and bring to a simmer.
3. Cover the pot and reduce heat to low.
4. Simmer the stew for an hour.  
5. Add the pork pieces, put the lid back on, and simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Add the chicken, put the lid back on, and simmer for 10 minutes.
7. Add the greens, put the lid back on, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring intermittently until the greens are wilted.
8. Serve on top of rice and enjoy!

(Source: Romazava)

KOBA RAVINA

5 bananas (ripe)

1 1/2 C glutinous rice flour
1/2 C brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1/2 C peanuts, coarsely ground
Banana leaves

1. Mash bananas in a bowl.
2. Mix with rice flour and sugar.
3. Add vanilla and mix.
4. Place 3 tbsp or so of the batter in the center of a banana leaf.
5. Sprinkle with peanuts.
6. Fold the banana leaf along the length of a rectangle and tie with cooking twine.
7. Steam for 30 minutes.  The mixture should have a loaf-like consistency.
8. Enjoy!

(Source: Koba Ravina)

The verdict?  I thought the soup was really good.  It was VERY hearty, with all the meat in there.  It was quite filling as well!  If I were to make it again, I think I would leave out the pork, or make the pieces smaller.  It was quite tough to chew all of the elements at once when you got a piece of pork.  I also thought the soup would be spicy, with three serranos in there.  However, there was no spice at all!  It gave the soup a good flavor, but it wasn't spicy at all!  I did not care for the Koba Ravina at all.  It tasted and smelled like really ripe bananas, which is not a pleasant taste to me.  Handsome Husband and Fantastic Friend said the Koba Ravina was OK, but as it cooled down, it didn't taste as good.  We all enjoyed the stew though!

 

 

 

    

ME

Taste of Romazava (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 6

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 1

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Romazava (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 6

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6

 

ME

Taste of Koba Ravina (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 0

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 4

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Koba Ravina (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 6

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 7