19 January 2012

.cooking in malawi.

Can be difficult with the much delayed rainy season the only guaranteed produce at the Liwonde market is tomatoes and onions. On a good day you might find some of the following: carrots, cucumbers, cabbage, eggplant, green peppers, okra, and soon there will be avocados!! But those aren’t most days.  So every night is a bit challenging. Kate and I often make spaghetti with a tomato sauce, bean tacos with salsa, and vegetable curries. All of which are good choices but I LOVE cooking so I need some new “go-to” eats.

Any ideas from the foodies out there?!?! 
So Tuesday is market day. That is the one day you can be sure that you’ll have better luck with produce as people bring in their goods from surrounding villages. This week I found okra and lots of it!! If only my Nana was here to fry some up in cornmeal (in my opinion that’s the most legit way of enjoying okra!). And I found eggplants. Yum yum! So I thought HOW can I use both??
Okra, eggplant, and tomato curry over quinoa

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, sliced thinly
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground ginger (or use fresh if you have it)
3 cups okra, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 small graffiti eggplants, diced
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 Tbsp tamarind concentrate
salt and pepper to taste

3 cups cooked quinoa* (or rice)
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until it gets tender. Stir in curry powder, turmeric, and ginger, and cook for an additional minute. Then add okra, eggplant, tomato, and tamarind concentrate, stir well, cover, and cook until okra and eggplant are tender (about 15 min). Add salt and pepper to taste and serve over quinoa. Serves 4.
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Rajah is a staple Malawian spice!


















I found this gem of a recipe here! And surprisingly I had EVERYTHING needed for this recipe (except quinoa. I hope everyone stateside is gorge themselves on my behalf. Honestly quinoa is amazing and I miss it dearly!!). It was delish! And I bought an apron for 30 cents!


 I love market days!

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