The Reality of Malawian Dining
June 23rd, 2010In took me only a few days to sniff out a good Italian restaurant with proper cappuccino in Lilongwe. I could eat like a local, but unfortunately my western palette can’t handle the monotony of the diet: nsima or white rice with an occasional roasted chicken or goat.
Nsima is the staple of Malawi (and most other African countries). It’s a mixture of powdered maize and hot water, blended into a thick paste. American maize was introduced by the Europeans in the 1800s, then later planted in great quantities during the famine of the 1970s. It’s the main crop of the country, second only to tobacco (Malawi’s only export)–a cheap filler for an empty stomach with little nutritional value.
