Food, recipes, and commodities of empires: Mozambique in the Indian Ocean network

Abstract

This paper discusses the role of memories and history, broadening the debate on the meanings of colonization and migratory processes in the Indian Ocean. Identity processes form a central arena in which food is tied to notions of memory; indeed, people exchange both goods and ideas, engaging in social relations confined not only to the market place, but often extended to more private fields, such as the cuisine. This paper focus on the study of different uses of 'curry' recipes and how they were transformed through invention, standardization, or valorization, into national - Mozambican - cuisine. In parallel, and following recent trends proposed by post-colonial studies, it expands the discussion on the role of the Indian Ocean as a place of commercial interaction, discussing, through the lenses of the exchange of food products, how recipes gradually become indigenized.