What do people eat in Malawi? Food in Malawi.

What do people eat in Malawi?  Malawi food is part of the Malawi culture.

Malawi people like the rest of the world have a variety of foods which they eat.

People in Malawi eat local foods more than they eat processed foods. Traditional Malawian food is made following easy Malawi  recipes. Malawi food recipes are taught are mostly learn verbally or by observation. Easy Malawi recipes do not require complicates  measuring utensils like kitchen scales. Instead people rely on approximate measurements using hands and cups.

What foods are popular in Malawi?

The most popular food in Malawi is nsima. Nsima is served with relish in main dishes.

Malawi culture encourages families to prepare meals for visitors as a sign of sharing love.

Mostly Malawians serve visitors with nsima and chicken.  

What is nsima made up of?

Nsima is made up of maize or cassava flour and water.  Water is boiled and mixed with the flour. A cooking stick is used to thoroughly mix water and flour until  a thick paste is formed. The thick porridge like food is know as nsima. It is commonly served during launch and supper.

Nsima is the main source of carbohydrates for Malawians. Babies eat soft porridge made from the same maize flour.  Relish especially fish is the common source of proteins in most Malawian diets.

Breakfast is commonly tea served with cassava, Irish potatoes, rice or bread.

Lake Malawi is the largest source of fishes.  Chambo fish and small fishes known as usipa are readily available in markets in towns and cities.

Vegetables

Vegetables such okra locally known as therere are sources of vitamins.  

A woman’s ability to cook tasty traditional dishes makes her more attractive to men in some cultures.

Many people people use groundnuts flour (nsinjiro) to season local malawi food.

Vegetables which are abundant during rainy season are-sun dried and stored in sacks. When summer comes people cook dried vegetables by boiling method.

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Malawi Staple Food

Maize is the staple food in Malawi.  About 80{5808e1736132a1fa864f6fc8b64688fbc0d5d9b8c9ab44aea1223eff99f9c2e7} of the population in the country depends on maize as the source of food. Rice is another source of carbohydrates for people in Malawi. Rice is commonly served in homes on Christmas.

Malawi food crisis happens when there is inadequate maize in the country.  Bad weather and floods causes food shortages in some years. Most people grow maize on small-scale basis. In order to make sure the people have enough maize the government provides subsidized farm materials like fertilizers and seeds.    

Common Fruits

Bananas, oranges, lemons, mangoes, and paw-paw are some the fruits people in Malawi. When eating, people use fingers instead of forks. Many people eat Malawi food in groups. Malawians believe that eating together from the same with family friends is a sign of love.

Drinks

The common drink for Malawians is thobwa. People Thobwa using  maize and sometimes millet flour.  During the hot season people like to drink thobwa which is also sold at a cheap rice in plastic bottles.

Where to it?

Traditional Malawi food is found in restaurant and hotels for tourists who want to eat Malawi food.  Many Malawians like to eat at homes.