Ranovola

Ingredients

The rice crust

• the toasted crust
• left in the pot
• after cooking rice
• about 100 g

Or made deliberately

• 150 gcooked rice
• spread in a dry pot
• and toasted

The rest

• 1 litrewater
• boiling

Sometimes added

• a pinch of salt
• sugar, rarely
• vanilla, rarely

Directions

1. Spread cooked rice in a dry pot. Toast it until it browns and dries. Cook rice in a heavy pot over heat. Use a heavy-based pot rather than non-stick. Cook it over direct heat rather than steam. Let the bottom layer dry and toast.
2. Leave it on the heat a few minutes longer. That is the signal it is ready. Take it off the moment it smells toasty. Spoon the loose rice out of the pot.
3. Leave the stuck crust behind entirely. Do not scrape any of it out at all. Serve the loose rice with the meal.
4. Pour water into the pot with the crust. About a litre to a good crust is right. Adjust the strength to your own taste. Bring all the water up to a boil. Let it boil for about ten minutes. Use a wooden spoon rather than metal.
5. Work gently rather than vigorously. Judging it takes a look and a taste. Taste a little of it from a spoon. It should taste of toasted rice.
6. Boil it longer for a stronger drink. Add water if it is too strong. Strain all the liquid into a jug. Strain out the softened rice pieces. It is soft and only mildly toasty.
7. Add just a small pinch of salt. Salt sharpens the toasted flavour. Serving it is done hot or cold. Serve it hot straight from the pot. It is drunk hot with a hot meal.

Technique

• Aim for a golden brown crust rather than a black one: a golden crust gives a pleasant toasty drink where a burnt one tastes acrid, and there is a real difference between them. Listen for a faint crackling and take the pot off the moment a toasty nutty smell rises — an acrid burnt smell means it went too far.
• Boiling the water is a genuine practical benefit as well as a cooking step, making it safe to drink, and is part of why the habit persists.
• Use a heavy-based pot over direct heat rather than a rice cooker or non-stick pan, neither of which forms a crust; leave the rice on the heat a few minutes after it is cooked through so the bottom layer dries and toasts.

Substitutions

• Where no crust has formed, spread cooked rice in a dry pot and toast it until browned and dry, then boil the water on top of that — it gives essentially the same result.
• A small pinch of salt sharpens the toasted flavour, though many households add nothing at all and the plain version is standard; some sweeten it slightly, which is not the usual way.

Variations

• Spoon the loose rice out and leave the stuck crust behind entirely rather than scraping it out — that crust is the whole point, and boiling water on it flavours the drink and cleans the pot in the same act.
• Scrape the base gently with a wooden spoon as it boils, which loosens the crust and releases more flavour into the water.
• It is drunk during the meal itself rather than before or after, sitting on the table with the food, and is made after nearly every pot of rice — entirely ordinary rather than special.

History

Water boiled in the pot with the toasted rice crust left after cooking; this smoky rice water is the everyday Malagasy table drink.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ranovola?

Ranovola is a drink from Madagascar: toasted-rice water, the traditional table drink. Water boiled in the pot with the toasted rice crust left after cooking; this smoky rice water is the everyday Malagasy table drink.

How long does Ranovola take to make?

Ranovola takes 5 minutes of preparation and 15 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Ranovola?

Yes, within limits. Where no crust has formed, spread cooked rice in a dry pot and toast it until browned and dry, then boil the water on top of that — it gives essentially the same result. A small pinch of salt sharpens the toasted flavour, though many households add nothing at all and the plain version is standard; some sweeten it slightly, which is not the usual way.

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

Spread cooked rice in a dry pot. Toast it until it browns and dries. Cook rice in a heavy pot over heat. Use a heavy-based pot rather than non-stick. Cook it over direct heat rather than steam. Let the bottom layer dry and toast.