Malawi

Lake Malawi fish with nsima maize porridge; leafy relishes thickened with groundnuts, banana fritters and sweet maize drinks. That is the short version of what Malawi cooks. Look for Nsima (smooth maize porridge patties, the heart of every Malawian meal), Chambo (lake Malawi tilapia grilled or fried whole, national favorite) and Malawi tea (brisk black tea from the Thyolo and Mulanje slopes, drunk sweet with milk). Maize meal cooked stiff and turned with a wooden spoon; maize displaced sorghum and millet in Malawi during the colonial period. This atlas has 28 Malawi dishes catalogued below, from everyday cooking to food kept for festivals and special occasions.