Tsaramaso

Ingredients

The beans

• 500 gdried white beans
• tsaramaso, haricot or cannellini
• soaked overnight in cold water
• or 3 tins white beans, drained
• water, to cover

The base

• 3 tablespoonsoil
• or pork fat, if using pork
• 2onions, finely chopped
• 6 clovesgarlic, crushed
• a large thumb of ginger
• grated finely
• 4ripe tomatoes, chopped
• or 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 tablespoonstomato purée

Often added

• 400 gpork belly
• cut into cubes
• or 400 g beef
• or leave out entirely
• for the vegetarian version

The seasoning

• salt and black pepper
• 1stock cube, optional
• a small bunch coriander
• chopped, to finish
• 1hot chilli, whole

To serve

• plenty of steamed white rice
• ranovola, rice water
• sakay, Malagasy chilli paste
• a fresh salad

Directions

1. Discard the soaking water entirely. Boil the beans hard for ten minutes. Never cook dried beans in a slow cooker unboiled. Boil on the hob first, then transfer. Pick through the dried beans for stones. Rinse them well under cold water. Cover them generously with cold water. Soak them overnight, or eight hours at least.
2. Soak them in the fridge in warm weather. Warm soaking water ferments and turns sour. Drain them and discard that water. Put them in a pot with fresh cold water. Cover them by five centimetres of water. Do not add salt at this stage.
3. Bring them to a full rolling boil. Boil them hard for ten minutes uncovered. Skim off any grey foam that rises. Simmer until tender, about an hour. Old beans can take considerably longer. Drain them but keep the cooking liquid. If using pork, brown it first in the oil.
4. Brown it in batches without crowding. Lift the pork out and set it aside. Add the chopped onions to the same pan. Cook them slowly for ten minutes. They should be soft and lightly golden.
5. Add the crushed garlic and grated ginger. Use more than you think you need. Cook them for two minutes until fragrant. Add the tomato purée and fry it. Fry it for two minutes until it darkens. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan.
6. Cook until they collapse completely. That collapsing takes about ten minutes. Return the browned pork with its juices. Add the cooked beans to the pan. Add enough bean cooking liquid to cover. Add the whole chilli, left unbroken. Add the stock cube if you are using one. Season with salt and black pepper. Bring it to a simmer and partly cover.
7. Simmer it gently for thirty minutes. Pork needs longer, about an hour. Stir the pot from time to time. Add more bean liquid if it dries out. The finished dish should be thick and saucy.
8. Mash a few beans to thicken it further. Taste and correct the seasoning. Scatter chopped coriander over the top. Remove the chilli or leave it in. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Cook it in water until tender and dry. Serve a generous plateful per person. It means golden water in Malagasy.

Technique

• Undercooked dried beans contain phytohaemagglutinin, which causes severe vomiting and cramps. Discard the soaking water, boil hard for ten minutes, and never cook dried beans in a slow cooker that may never reach a boil. Tinned beans are already cooked.
• The beans must be fully tender before the tomato goes in. Acid halts the softening of pulses, so a chalky bean at that point stays chalky however long it simmers.
• Tsaramaso is a laoka, not a main course. A Malagasy plate is mostly rice with a smaller quantity of something on top, and understanding that structure changes how much you serve.
• Use more ginger than seems right. It is central to Malagasy cooking and it is what makes this taste Malagasy rather than generically stewed.
• Ranovola, golden water, is made by boiling water in the pot with the toasted rice crust still stuck to it. It is drunk at nearly every meal, costs nothing, and uses what would otherwise be scraped away.
• Leave the chilli whole. Unbroken it perfumes the pot; burst it makes everything fiercely hot. Sakay on the table lets each person add their own heat.
• Madagascar was settled from Southeast Asia and its language belongs to the Austronesian family, related to languages of Borneo, despite the island sitting off the African coast. Rice and ginger point one way in this dish; tomatoes and beans point elsewhere. The food carries all those layers.

Substitutions

• Tinned white beans replace dried ones directly; drain, rinse and add them with the tomato, using water or stock in place of bean liquid.
• Beef replaces pork and is used in households that avoid pork.
• The meat can be left out entirely for a vegetarian version, which is common and needs a little more seasoning.
• Haricot, cannellini or butter beans all work; butter beans give a creamier result.
• Tinned chopped tomatoes replace fresh out of season.
• Any fresh chilli paste stands in for sakay.

Variations

• Tsaramaso with pork, often called tsaramaso sy henakisoa, is the most common version and is considered the fullest.
• Tsaramaso malagasy made with red beans rather than white is equally common and gives a darker dish.
• A version with smoked or dried fish in place of meat is made in coastal households.
• Some cooks add a handful of chopped greens near the end.
• Voanjobory sy henakisoa, bambara groundnuts with pork, is the related Malagasy pulse-and-pork dish.
• A soupier version, with much more bean liquid, is served as a broth with rice on the side.

History

White beans stewed with tomato and often pork, the cheap protein eaten with rice in highland households.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tsaramaso?

Tsaramaso is a salad & side from Madagascar: white beans stewed with tomato and ginger over rice. White beans stewed with tomato and often pork, the cheap protein eaten with rice in highland households.

How long does Tsaramaso take to make?

Tsaramaso takes 20 minutes plus overnight soaking of preparation and 1 hour 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Tsaramaso?

Yes, within limits. Tinned white beans replace dried ones directly; drain, rinse and add them with the tomato, using water or stock in place of bean liquid. Beef replaces pork and is used in households that avoid pork. The meat can be left out entirely for a vegetarian version, which is common and needs a little more seasoning. Haricot, cannellini or butter beans all work; butter beans give a creamier result. Tinned chopped tomatoes replace fresh out of season. Any fresh chilli paste stands in for sakay.

What is the most important thing to get right in Tsaramaso?

Discard the soaking water entirely. Boil the beans hard for ten minutes. Never cook dried beans in a slow cooker unboiled. Boil on the hob first, then transfer. Pick through the dried beans for stones. Rinse them well under cold water. Cover them generously with cold water. Soak them overnight, or eight hours at least.