When I asked my friend who had lived in Madagascar for a few traditional recipes, he sent me some including this recipe for ravitoto pork stew. It is simple, healthy and tasty. Although the recipe calls for manioc leaves, that is the one ingredient that may be difficult to find in a western supermarket. As a substitute, I used spinach and that worked well and gave the stew a nice colour. However, I did not get a chance to sample a recipe for ravitoto pork while in Madagascar, so I am unable to compare the tastes.
The recipe serves about 4 people with small portions or two large portions.
Ingredients
500g pork loin
100 ml vegetable oil + 1 Tbsp
750 g fresh manioc leaves (or spinach as a substitute), washed and dried
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
1 cm fresh ginger, peeled and minced
500 ml water
1 tsp granulated sugar
Salt to taste
2 large tomatoes
1 bunch of spring onion
Pinch of chili powder
About 4 cups of cooked white rice to serve on the side
Instructions
First, cut the washed and dried manioc or spinach into large pieces. And cut the pork loin into 1-centimetre cubes.
Next, in a large pot over medium heat, add 100ml of the oil. Brown the cubes of pork for about 10 minutes. Then add a pinch of salt to taste.
Add the garlic, ginger, manioc or spinach leaves, 500 ml of water and the sugar. Mix and bring to a boil. Then cover and lower the heat to simmer for one hour. Check occasionally to ensure that there is still some water in the pot.
In a small bowl, prepare the tomato sauce. First, cut the tomatoes and remove the seeds. Then chop them into small pieces and put them into the bowl. Finely chop the spring onion and add this to the bowl. Season with a pinch of chili powder. Finally, mix in one tablespoon of oil. Set this aside until the pork is done.
Then serve the pork with rice and the tomato sauce on the side.
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