Malawian cuisine includes the foods and culinary practices of

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

. Tea and fish are popular features of Malawian cuisine.Food
Malawi Embassy Sugar, coffee, corn, potatoes, sorghum, cattle and goats are also important components of the cuisine and economy.

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fre ...

is a source of fish including ''chambo'' (similar to

bream Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including ''Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), ''Acanthopagrus'', '' Argyrops'', ''Blicca'', '' Brama'', ''Chilotilapia'', '' Etelis'', ''Lepo ...

), ''

usipa Usipa (scientific name: ''Engraulicypris sardella'') is a "small sardine-like fish that occurs in large shoals". Because of its small size, it is commonly dried. Usipa is mostly eaten in Malawi and Mozambique along with nsima ugali. Dried usipa ...

'' (similar to

sardine "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the Ital ...

), ''mpasa'' (similar to

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

), and ''

kampango The kampango or kampoyo (''Bagrus meridionalis'') is a critically endangered species of large and predatory bagrid catfish that is endemic to Lake Malawi, Lake Malombe and the upper Shire River in Africa. It prefers areas near rocks in water sha ...

''. ''

Nsima Ugali or Posho or sima (for others, see ) is a type of maize meal made from maize or corn flour in several countries in Africa. Sima is sometimes made from other flours, such as millet or sorghum flour, and is sometimes mixed with cassava flour. ...

'' is a staple food made from ground corn and served with side dishes of meat, beans and vegetables. It can be eaten for lunch and dinner. Additional Malawi cuisine includes: *''

Kachumbari Kachumbari is a fresh tomato and onion salad dish that is popular in the cuisines of the African Great Lakes region. It is an uncooked salad dish consisting of chopped tomatoes, onions, and chili peppers. Variations of kachumbari can be found in ...

'', a type of tomato and onion

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a va ...

, known locally in Malawi as a ''sumu'' or ''shum'' or simply 'tomato and onion salad'. *'' Thobwa'', a

fermented drink This is a list of fermented foods, which are foods produced or preserved by the action of microorganisms. In this context, Fermentation in food processing, fermentation typically refers to the fermentation of sugar to ethanol, alcohol using yeas ...

made from white maize and millet or sorghum. *'' Kondowole'', made from

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

flour and

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

. It is primarily from northern

and is a very sticky meal resembling Malawian ''

nsima Ugali or Posho or sima (for others, see ) is a type of maize meal made from maize or corn flour in several countries in Africa. Sima is sometimes made from other flours, such as millet or sorghum flour, and is sometimes mixed with cassava flour. ...

'', Tanzanian ''

ugali Ugali or Posho or sima (for others, see ) is a type of maize meal made from maize or corn flour in several countries in Africa. Sima is sometimes made from other flours, such as millet or sorghum flour, and is sometimes mixed with cassava flour. ...

'', or Ugandan '' posho''. It is mostly cooked on the floor because of its texture as it is normally tough to run a cooking stick through hence much strength is needed. ''Kondowole'' is normally eaten with fish. * ''Futali'' * ''Nthochi'', banana bread File:LocationMalawi.svg, Location of

File:Groundnut harvesting in Malawi.jpg, Harvesting groundnuts at an agricultural research station in Malawi File:Women in Salima District, Malawi.jpg, Women in

Salima District Salima is a district in the Central Region of Malawi. The capital is Salima. The district covers an area of 2,196 km.² and has a population of 478,346. The beach at Senga Bay is the weekend retreat of many from the capital, Lilongwe, and h ...

, Malawi, selling

groundnut Groundnut may refer to: * Seeds that ripen underground, of the following plants, all in the Faboideae subfamily of the legumes: ** '' Best Basketball Player'', Obinna Udunni ** '' Arachis villosulicarpa'', a perennial peanut species ** ''Vigna sub ...

s File:Karonga rice fields.jpg, Rice fields in

Karonga Karonga is a township in the Karonga District in Northern Region of Malawi. Located on the western shore of Lake Nyasa, it was established as a slaving centre sometime before 1877. As of 2018 estimates, Karonga has a population of 61,609. His ...

File:Local Malawi variety of sorghum.jpg, A local Malawian variety of

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

Fish

Fish in Malawi ranges from

utaka image:Copadichromis_azureus.jpg, ''Copadichromis azureus'', one of the utaka of Lake Malawi in Africa Utaka is the term used for open water-dwelling cichlids found in Lake Malawi, the most diverse source of cichlids in the world of aquaria. Among ...

, kapenta, kampango, bombe, Mlamba, Micheni, Butter fish (known as Batala)and ''chambo'' (a famous fish from

) among others. ''Kondowole'' is not a meal that can be made in bulk because of its consistency and texture, therefore is not as frequently eaten as ''

''.

References

{{Authority control East African cuisine

Fish

See also

References