Comoros

A thick, cohesive porridge of slow-cooked cracked wheat and chicken beaten together until the grain fully dissolves into a uniform, savory mass, finished with poured ghee.

Rice cooked entirely by absorption in coconut milk rather than water, yielding fragrant, richly flavored grains with a subtly sweet, savory, and creamy character.

Whole reef fish grilled over charcoal, marinated or basted with a vibrant lime and chili paste that caramelizes into the charred skin.

A South Asian dense pudding-style sweet made by cooking semolina, flour, or a grated vegetable (such as carrot) in ghee with sugar and nuts until rich and glossy.

A Comorian celebration dish of whole spiny lobster (langouste) braised or grilled and finished in a sauce of locally grown vanilla beans steeped in coconut milk with aromatic vegetables.

A Comorian staple of pounded cassava leaves slow-cooked to a dense, creamy paste in coconut milk, enriched with dried or fresh fish or meat.

A Comorian and Swahili-coast staple of white rice cooked in coconut milk until tender and fragrant, forming the foundational starch of the islands.

A slow-simmered Comorian stew of meat and vegetables in a coconut-milk and spice sauce, characteristic of Grande Comore (Ngazidja).

A Comorian dish of green unripe coconut and taro cooked together in a spiced coconut broth.

A thick, lightly leavened Comorian griddle flatbread enriched with coconut milk and egg, cooked in a cast-iron pan until golden and set, producing a soft, slightly sweet crumb with a faintly crisped base.

A Comorian baked semolina cake set with eggs and sugar and perfumed with rose water, baked in a tray and cut into squares or diamonds.

A Comorian festive sweet of rice and coconut milk steamed inside a banana leaf into a fragrant, tender cake.

A Swahili Coast feast rice in which long-grain rice is cooked by full absorption in a richly spiced meat broth, built upon a foundation of deeply caramelized onions and whole warm spices bloomed in hot fat.

A brothy stew of mixed meats simmered with leafy greens, ginger and peppery anamalao/watercress, served over rice.

A fried triangular pastry of the Indian Ocean islands filled with spiced minced meat or lentils, eaten as a street snack and iftar staple.

A sweet, chilled refresher of rose syrup and soaked basil seeds suspended in cold water or milk, drunk on hot days and at celebrations.

A fragrant Comorian spiced meat-and-vegetable soup, enriched with warm spices and often coconut, traditionally eaten to break the Ramadan fast and at celebrations.

A Comorian egg-rich layered pastry built with coconut and caramelised sugar, served at ceremonies and celebrations.