RODANGI CUISINE
(This is the traditional food of Balthazaar's people!)
OVERVIEW
Rodanga is a territory of Matuzu Kingdom, located in the Midland Savannah region. This region is prone to long droughts and locust swarms, which can decimate crops and cause sudden famine. Because of this, the notion of wasting food is deeply offensive to the Rodangi people, and they make a point to consume every calorie they can get while they can still get it. Their traditional cuisine is notoriously fattening, with a generous use of lard, butter, fried foods, and sugars. Tourists who visit Rodanga always leave heavier than they arrived, but luckily for them, being fat is a point of pride in this culture.
HAM ROLLS
When people think of Rodangi cuisine, the first thing that comes to mind are ham rolls. This dish is prepared by melting cheese on long ham slices, then rolling the slices up with a mix of diced vegetables inside (corn, tomatoes, and green onions are common). The rolls may or may not be fried afterwards. Either way, they are drenched in white gravy to complete the dish. This greasy, salty food is not exactly healthy, but no one can deny its delicious taste.
SPICY STICKS ‘N STRIPS
A cut of meat (usually a poultry drumstick) is battered with corn flour and deep-fried in tallow, then spiced with hot chili powder. This spicy meat is traditionally eaten alongside fried yam strips and white gravy dipping sauce. This is a popular lunchtime meal for Rodangi’s lower classes, as chicken and yams are the city’s cheapest and most abundant foods. Upper classes tend to substitute the chicken drumstick for a leg of goat or ostrich, but the preparation of the dish remains the same.
RODANGI BURGER
There are many styles of burger around Looming Gaia. The Rodangi-style burger contains ground buffalo meat, cabbage, purple onions, and a generous amount of melted cheese. Chilies and sugar are added to the meat to give it a distinct sweet and spicy flavor, and the bun is topped with crispy buffalo bits. Most Rodangi citizens work labor-intensive jobs such as farming and ranching. This large burger is easy to prepare and provides all the calories they need for the day, so it is a popular staple food for the average family.
GRILLED SUNFLOWER
Sunflowers are an abundant crop all throughout the Midland Savannah. Most peoples harvest the seeds and discard the rest of the flower, but the Rodangi are not so wasteful. They prefer to grill the sunflower head until the seeds turn to mush, then slather it with a garlic and butter glaze to make a tasty meal. Just one large sunflower head can feed a whole family of middleweight peoples, such as humans. But heavyweight peoples, such as centaurs, often demolish the whole thing themselves. If the seeds are left in-tact before grilling, they provide a ton of healthy fat, fiber, and calories with every bite. This dish is a daily staple for Rodanga’s poor, but wealthier classes also eat it on occasion.
OSTRICH EGG
Chickens and guineafowl are the most commonly ranched birds in Rodanga, but ostriches are the most famous. These birds don’t lay eggs as often as others, but when they do, the egg is large enough to feed an adult human for an entire day. Fried ostrich eggs are a common breakfast for Rodanga’s upper class people, as they are much more expensive than other eggs. They are traditionally sprinkled with black pepper and parsley. Lower classes tend to eat them only on special occasions, such as holidays.
PLUM MILK
Plum milk is made by mashing plums into a paste, straining out the sweet juice, and stirring it in with cow’s milk until it turns pink. The drink is then topped with whipped cream and candied fennel seeds. It’s said to be as delicious as it is beautiful, and its bright color makes it particularly popular with Rodangi children. This drink may be served cold or warm. Just one cup provides a big shot of sugar and fat, so plum milk is considered a whole meal by itself.
PUDDING CAKE
Considered the quintessential dessert of the Rodangi people, pudding cake is a sweet, dense cake made from cornmeal, sugar, milk, and eggs. It has a filling of sweet lard-based pudding and an even sweeter glazing of honey on the outside. It may be eaten on its own, but most often it is eaten right after dinner. How the Rodangi make room in their stomachs for such a rich dessert remains a mystery!
OTHER DISHES
Sugared locusts are also a traditional Rodangi food. You can read about them on the Matuzan Cuisine article.
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