A festival dish, for happy occasions. Sakay, a mixture of ginger, garlic and chilli, is used as a condiment instead of salt and pepper. It is very hot and should be used sparingly. Rougail is a salad of red onions, spring onions and tomatoes that is served as a refreshing and contrasting accompaniment to the pork, which in Madagascar is always extremely fatty.
groundnut oil
1.6 kg (3½ lb) leg or shoulder of pork, cut into 5 cm (2 in) chunks
700 g (1½ lb) eel, skinned and boned (ask your fishmonger to do this for you)
salt
1 large onion, sliced
700 g (1½ lb) tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped
SAKAY
75 g (3 oz) fresh root ginger, minced
8 - 10 garlic cloves, minced
15 g (½ oz) red chilli, minced
ROUGAIL
1 red onion, chopped
6 spring onions, chopped
3 plum tomatoes, skinned and chopped
good pinch of salt
First make the Sakay and then the Rougail by mixing together the ingredients.
Lightly oil a large pan and seal the pork without colouring. Add enough water to cover, and simmer for 40 minutes to 1 hour, covered, until the meat is tender.
Cut the eel fillets into pieces about 10 cm (4 in) long and roll up. Sprinkle with salt. Add to the pan with the onion and tomatoes. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the eel is tender.
Serve with a little Sakay and Rougail,
Serves 6.
country : Madagascar
course : meat dish
source : Floyd on Africa / Keith Floyd