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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nMore than the Cartoon: Masdagascar Culture and Fun Facts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Madagascar is a gorgeous and fascinating place. Madagascar is a large island that broke off the eastern shore of Africa 88 million years ago. It is the fourth-largest island in the world. It is a stew of cultures, but has maintained a distinct identity. Fast forward to the video we watched about locals bridging the divide between multiple heritages. and opting to focus on their Malagasy roots over their Western European or Indonesian. These cultures came from its uniquely situated location. It is a hub, or station, among major sea-faring routes, particularly before routes like the Suez Canal opened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This blend of Africa and Asia is absolutely beautiful. Much of Madagascar\u2019s culture and history comes from the East rather than the West. Historians say that human settlement began with Austronesian peoples<\/a>, even though Africa\u2019s Cradle of Humankind is next door. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Its flora and fauna are distinctly Malagasy as well. More than 80% of its plants are found nowhere else in the world. Madagascar is home to 50% of the world\u2019s chameleon population, and 100% of the world\u2019s lemur population. Lemurs are sacred in Madagascar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few other fun and interesting facts we learned about Madagascar\u2019s culture:<\/p>\n\n\n\n All this is a recipe for a place like no other. We were lucky to get this spin so early in our process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Queue up the Malagasy music! Madagascar Music – playlist by Pan African Music | Spotify<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n As we cooked, we listened to a playlist on Spotify simply titled \u201cMadagascar Music.\u201d We had to root through a lot of the movie soundtrack playlist before finding something this time, but the one we found really hit the spot. It was energetic enough that we danced with the kids around the kitchen, but at the same time calm enough to play during dinner. It\u2019s 25 songs which seems like the perfect amount for a playlist – enough for a long dinner or drive, but not overwhelming. Highly recommend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We went to a local international market this week to explore. It looked like it was African-themed, but information online was sparse. We needed to give it a shot in person. We were hopeful to find a few of the more exotic ingredients common to Madagascar culture. This included spices like Grains of Paradise and cardamom, as well as fresh foods like tamarind, guava, anamamy greens and paracress greens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n None of those ingredients were in the store, of course it is very difficult to get fresh fruits and vegetables imported across the globe. One of the challenging things about Midwest winters is the lack of access to a lot of fresh fruits and veggies. However, we were excited to find a big bag of cassava flour, a popular staple for African cooking. And tons and tons of varieties of rice. Lots of smoked fish. And multiple bags of plantain chips that may or may not have been finished by the time we drove home. We\u2019re super excited to have found this little market, it\u2019s close to the boys\u2019 daycare so we can easily pop by any day, especially when we get a Caribbean spin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You could definitely smell the fish, Neil\u2019s reaction was \u201cit\u2019s stinky in here!\u201d Thankfully I don\u2019t think anyone heard him. These kids just don\u2019t hold back, man. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We decided to make the national dish of Madagascar culture, which is called Romazava. It\u2019s a stew made of meat and greens. This Romazava<\/a> recipe was incredibly easy to make, and we had most of the ingredients in our pantry already. It\u2019s going to become a go-to in this household, as we\u2019re all about the one pot meal around here. Go to the recipe to learn more, but this is seriously it: brown the beef, dump a can of diced tomatoes, add some ginger and garlic, let simmer for 30 minutes, add chicken and pork, simmer for 15 more, add greens, simmer for 10 more. That\u2019s it, folks. We cooked some brown rice in the instant pot on the side at the same time. The whole process took about an hour, but was very hands off. Fun fact, the Malagasy love rice – just like our kids – and its rice consumption is the highest per capita in any area outside Asia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This stew also made Alli feel very nostalgic\u2014it tastes so much like her Grandma\u2019s famous vegetable soup (which is a hilarious title given that it consists of 80% beef, 10% tomatoes and another 10% vegetables thrown in for good measure). This one, like grandma\u2019s vegetable stew, really needs the meat though\u2014it makes it. It\u2019s a really great, hearty meal for a cold winter day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Romazava was perfect for today as our entire state (Indiana) is getting ready to go into hunker down mode, as a winter storm is a\u2019brewin. Most schools have preemptively closed for this expected snow and ice storm, and of course, the crazies turned out in droves at Target and Meijer to buy everything in sight. We needed some more bananas for this Malagasy cake recipe<\/a>, so Alli made a quick Target run this morning and the shelves were EMPTY. One, sad, brown, lonely banana sat on the shelf. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We did actually have two super ripe bananas left in the fridge, so we ended up making a half batch of this cake which was perfect for four people. Neil would argue otherwise, since he finished his in about 30 seconds flat and then slumped onto the ground in protest when we said we were all out. What a hard life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Malagasy cake turned out really well, but was a little more of a pudding consistency. Maybe somewhere between a banana bread and banana pudding. A brudding, if you will. The pictures in the reviews of this recipe looked much more like a cake consistency than ours, ours was not nearly as pretty. But who cares, because we loved the flavor. This actually reminded us of the cake we made for our St. Helena night, but that was made with canned pumpkin instead. It\u2019s been fun on this journey to see how similar some recipes and ingredients can be even on different sides of a continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019d like to point out that the obvious choice here for a video is Madagascar, especially if you\u2019re doing this with kids. However, our children are in the phase of life where they have 3 movies they\u2019ve watch 864 times, and will not accept the idea that we turn on any other kids movie. So instead we skipped through these videos on YouTube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Madagascar 4K – Drone – Travel Video<\/a> This video is cool drone footage over Madagascar\u2019s land. FYI, this has only music in the background, but its nice if you want to zen out on the couch. You may not enjoy watching hours of drone footage like Andrew does, so this is just a 4-minute intro for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Madagascar (Documentary, Discovery, History)<\/a> This is a full hour long documentary. If you want a quick overview, we really enjoyed the first 10 minutes or so, and it gave us a really good perspective on Madagascar culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anthony Bourdain – Madagascar<\/a> We\u2019re lucky when we land on a Parts Unknown episode for one of our weekly spins. RIP Anthony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cooking in Madagascar. A traditional Malagasy dinner.<\/a> We loved the music in this one and the brief rundown of Malagasy cuisine.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLet the Party Begin: Madagascar Music<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Scouring the International Market for Madagascar Foods<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Entree: Madagascar Romazava<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Madagascar](\"https:\/\/worldlywednesday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/IMG_2590-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nDessert: Malagasy Cake<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Kids](\"https:\/\/worldlywednesday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/IMG_2592-1024x768.jpg\")
Snuggle Up: Madagascar Culture and Travel Videos<\/h2>\n\n\n\n