AI-generated image
Vary sosoa
Rice soup with greens
Vary sosoa: soft, soupy Malagasy morning rice with greens and sakay chilli
In Antananarivo and across the highlands, the day starts with a bowl of vary sosoa: rice cooked with plenty of water until the grains are soft and loose in their milky cooking liquid, wetter than plain rice but not as smooth as congee. Stalls serve it with kitoza (dried meat), eggs or a spoon of fiery sakay; this vegan version tops it with garlicky greens and homemade sakay chilli paste. The common mistake is stirring it like risotto, which makes it gluey; stir only now and then. Chef's tip: make the sakay the day before; the ginger and chilli mellow overnight in the oil.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 9 oz long-grain white ricerinsed twice
- 6 ¼ cups water
- ¾ tsp salt
- 7 oz spinach or watercressroughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlicsliced
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
For the sakay
- 4 fresh red chilliesroughly chopped
- ⅔ oz fresh gingerpeeled and chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (4)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: For the sakay, pound or blitz 4 fresh red chillies, ⅔ oz fresh ginger, 1 clove garlic and ¼ tsp salt to a coarse paste, then stir in 3 tbsp sunflower oil. It's very hot; keep it in a jar in the fridge for up to a week.
Step 2: Put 9 oz long-grain white rice, 6 ¼ cups water and ¾ tsp salt in a large pan and bring to the boil over a high heat.
8 minStep 3: Lower to a gentle simmer, partly cover and cook for 20–25 minutes, stirring only occasionally, until the grains are very soft and swollen and sitting in a cloudy, slightly thickened liquid. Add hot water if it gets thick.
22 minStep 4: Meanwhile warm 1 tbsp sunflower oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, fry 2 cloves garlic for 30 seconds until fragrant, then add 7 oz spinach or watercress and stir until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt.
3 minStep 5: Ladle the rice into bowls, top with the greens and serve sakay on the side for everyone to add a dab.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 230 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 44 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does vary sosoa take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of long-grain white rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani
Hyderabad's biryani grew up in the kitchens of the Nizams, and the kacchi style is its proudest form: the chicken goes into the pot raw, in a thick yogurt, mint and fried-onion marinade, and cooks only in the steam trapped under part-cooked basmati. In the old city it is wedding and Eid food, ordered in huge copper deghs, and at home it's the Sunday showpiece, served with mirchi ka salan and a cooling raita. Because the meat cooks without being stirred, small bone-in thigh and drumstick pieces work best. Chef's tip: marinate overnight in the fridge — the yogurt tenderises the chicken and the flavours go right to the bone.
Indian
Khao kluk kapiShrimp paste rice
Everything on this central Thai plate is arranged in little heaps around a mound of rice tossed with garlic and fermented shrimp paste: sticky caramelised pork (moo wan), threads of sour green mango, shallots, chillies, sliced long beans, crisp dried shrimp and ribbons of thin omelette. You mix a bit of each into every spoonful, so salty, sweet, sour and hot arrive together. It's a favourite at Bangkok's curry-and-rice shops and a clever way to use up yesterday's rice at home; lime wedges and cucumber cool it down. Chef's tip: use day-old jasmine rice straight from the fridge, because freshly cooked rice clumps and smears the shrimp paste instead of coating each grain.
Thai
Masala ugaliSpiced maize meal porridge
Ugali, East Africa's staple of maize meal cooked into a stiff porridge, given a lift with toasted cumin, butter, fresh coriander and green chilli. Stir it hard and keep it soft. Serve hot with sukumawiki or any stew.