recipe-1

Recipe-1 › Curries of the world › Romazava

All over Madagascar, Madagascar

Romazava

Madagascar’s national dish: beef simmered with tomatoes and lots of leafy greens, including the tingling paracress (brède mafane).

Romazava
Close to the base recipe Mild

New here? How this page works

Recipe-1 is one simple curry recipe in nine steps: fry onions and green chillies, add your vegetables or meat, add chilli powder and turmeric, then water and salt, and boil. With small changes the same nine steps make curries from all over the world.

This page takes those nine steps and shows what to change to make Romazava. You don’t need to read anything else first: every base step is written out below. The changes are worked out on paper from what is typical for this dish; not yet kitchen-tested. Cooked it? Tell others how it went.

Green: the base recipe step (crossed out = do not use it for this dish)Red: what to do instead for Romazava

See the full base recipe (with timers and tips) · See all curries on the world map

You’ll need

How many people?4

The amounts change with the number of people; cooking times stay about the same (use a bigger pot for more). Taste as you go: you can always add more chilli or salt, but you cannot take it out.

Main ingredient: 600 g Beef in cubes.

From the base recipe

  • 1 Onions
  • 1 Green chillies
  • 2 tbsp Cooking oil
  • Red chilli powder not used
  • Turmeric not used
  • 1 tsp · 800 ml Salt and water
  • Ginger garlic paste not used
  • Cloves, cardamom and cinnamon not used
  • Garam masala (optional) not used

Add for Romazava

  • 500 g Leafy greens (spinach, mustard greens, paracress)
  • 3 Tomatoes
  • 3 · 2 cm Garlic and ginger

Leave out

  • Chilli powder
  • Turmeric
  • Whole spices
  • Garam masala

The nine steps, with the changes

Where a step has a red line, do the red line and not the crossed-out green base step. Steps with only green are done just as in the base recipe.

  1. Base step: do not useCut onions and chillies.

    Romazava: do thisChop the onions; one chilli is enough.

  2. Base step: do not useFry in some oil for around 4 minutes on medium-high heat.

    Romazava: do thisFry with garlic and ginger.

  3. Base step: do not useCut the vegetable(s) of your choice.

    Romazava: do thisWash and chop a large pile of greens.

  4. Base step: do not useAdd them and fry for around 4 minutes on medium-high heat.

    Romazava: do thisAdd the beef and brown it, then the tomatoes.

  5. Base step: do not useAdd red chilli powder and turmeric.

    Romazava: do thisSkip the spices; romazava is simple.

  6. Keep frying until just before they start browning.

  7. Base step: do not useAdd some water.

    Romazava: do thisAdd water to cover.

  8. Add salt.

  9. Base step: do not useBoil until the gravy is as thick as you like.

    Romazava: do thisSimmer 1 hour until the beef is tender, then add the greens and cook 10 minutes.

Serve: With rice; serve chilli paste (sakay) on the side.

For meat and seafood, make sure it is cooked through: chicken until no pink remains inside; mutton, goat and beef need long, slow cooking.

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Food marks, as on packaged food in India: vegetarian · non-vegetarian (meat, fish or egg). Dishes with both marks can be made either way.

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