Romazava

History

Romazava is considered the national dish of Madagascar, a beef stew paired with brèdes (local leafy greens such as anamalaho or brède mafana) cooked together in a light broth barely seasoned with ginger and onion.

Traditionally served with rice — a food so central to the Malagasy diet that it’s eaten at nearly every meal — romazava is often adapted abroad with spinach or cabbage when the original brèdes can’t be found, giving milder versions than the original. Brède mafana in particular imparts a characteristic light numbing sensation on the tongue.

Ingredients — serves 4

• 500 g (1.1 lb) beef, in chunks
• 400 g (14 oz) brèdes or fresh spinach
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3 cm (1 in) fresh ginger, grated
• 2 tomatoes
• Salt, a little oil
• White rice, to serve

Romazava, step by step

1. Brown the beef chunks with the onion and ginger in a little oil.
2. Add the chopped tomatoes and a little water, then simmer covered.
3. Continue cooking over low heat until the beef is very tender.
4. Wash the brèdes or spinach thoroughly, then roughly shred them.
5. Stir the greens into the pot at the very end of cooking and let wilt for a few minutes.
6. Serve hot with white rice, the central accompaniment to any Malagasy meal.

Cooking method

Technique: simmering the beef until tender before adding the greens at the very end of cooking to preserve their texture.

Traditional equipment: cast iron pot, freshly picked brède leaves.

Signs of doneness: the greens should stay tender but still slightly firm, never reduced to mush.

Nutrition, per serving

Calculated from the raw ingredient quantities above, divided by four servings.

With no starch of its own — the recipe leans on beef and leafy greens, rice served separately — romazava carries a light broth’s worth of carbohydrate, 9 g per serving, while still delivering a substantial 29 g of protein from the beef.

Economic context

Beef and rice are both central to Malagasy cooking, but beef in the quantity romazava calls for still sits above the vegetable- and rice-heavy baseline that fills most days — which is part of why it carries national-dish status rather than being simply routine fare.

Source: World Bank / FAO, Food Prices for Nutrition database (Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet) v4.0, 2024 data, CC BY 4.0, DOI 10.57966/41AN-KY81. Retrieved 29 July 2026. This figure describes the cost of a healthy diet in Madagascar generally — it is not a costing of this specific recipe.

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