Fritters are very popular all over Africa and are used as a side dish as well as a dessert. These are side dishes.
Use a pancake mix or, if you prefer, use the following batter.
Sift: 2 cups ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR with
Combine: 2 large EGGS beaten lightly with
Stir into the dry ingredients.
Add 2 cups KERNEL CORN (drained) to above batter mixture.
Drop by spoonfuls in deep fat at 375F until golden brown.
Add: 3 BANANAS, cut in slices
Drop by spoonfuls in deep fat, fry at 375', and cook until golden brown.
Pare 1 PINEAPPLE, core and cut into 3/4-inch slices, then in quarters.
Dip in above batter and proceed as Banana Fritters.
To save time use a good pancake mix. Adjust the quantity of liquid as necessary.
Add 2 cups COOKED OKRA cut in 1-inch pieces (drained).
Proceed as Sweet Corn Fritters.
This is rich but really delicious! You may, if you like, add 1/2 cup grated coconut to give it a stronger coconut flavor.
In a 2-quart saucepan:
Prepare 2 cups COCONUT MILK (see page 226).
Add 3 cups MILK and bring to boiling point.
Add: 2 cups RICE
Cover and cook until rice is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
Add 2 Tbs. BUTTER.
Serve as vegetable with fish or chicken.
Corn, known to the Africans as Maize or Mealies, is used in countless ways: pounded into corn flour, cornstarch, and cornmeal or cooked whole and cut from the cob.
The Africans combine corn with other starchy products such as rice, beans, and mashed potatoes as in Irio, the national dish of Kenya (see page 52). and as in this African succotash.
A few corn ideas from Africa:
Corn and Plantain Stew: Equal parts kernel corn and plantains. Cook together until tender.
Corn and Fish Chowder: Add green peppers and tomatoes for color and flavor to any fish or seafood chowder.
Maize Stew: Add chopped shrimp and hard-boiled eggs to corn and bean dish above.
In a 4-quart saucepan:
Saute: 1/2 cup ONIONS, chopped finely
Add: 1 cup DRIED WHITE BEANS or PEAS and
Simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until beans are cooked.
Add 2 cups KERNEL CORN (CANNED).
Correct the seasoning
Cook for 10 minutes longer.
Drain excess liquid if any.
Add 1 oz. BUTTER
Serve as a vegetable accompaniment for meat, fish, or poultry.
Pulses (dried peas, beans and lentils) are the most important part of the diet of the West African and Akara is, perhaps, the most popular dish. Akara is also served as a snack or as a dessert with fried bananas or plantains.
In a 1-quart bowl:
Soak 1 Ib. DRIED WHITE BEANS or BLACK-EYED PEAS in water overnight.
Drain and remove any loose skins and put through a meat grinder.
Add: 1/2 tsp. CAYENNE PEPPER
Beat in enough warm water to give beans consistency so that mixture drops easiIy from spoon.
In a 9-inch skillet:
Drop by teaspoons in hot fat and fry until golden brown on both sides.
Serve as a side vegetable.
There are many variations for making AKARA. Following the same method as above you can:
Add 1/2 cup cooked AKARA to 1 cup cooked okra or add grated cheese to the AKARA mixture.
Steamed unsweetened bananas are served as a starchy vegetable in many countries of Africa. You may want to sprinkle on some brown sugar but don t make it too sweet if it is to accompany a meat dish.
Banana leaves may be purchased in specialty fruit shops or Puerto Rican or Mexican markets which often carry them. If banana leaves are not available you may cook the bananas in aluminum foil, folded over the bananas as described below. If you are using foil, they may be baked in the oven at 375F for 45 minutes.
Line a 4-quart pan (with heavy cover) with 4 to 6 BANANA LEAVES so they overlap the pan and cover bottom completely.
Place 8 BANANAS, rather green (or plantains), peeled but left: hole, side by side in the pan.
Sprinkle with: 1 tsp. SALT and
Lap the banana leaves over the bananas to obtain a tight seal.
Pour 1 cup WATER at side of pan as it goes under the leaves.
Cover tightly and simmer slowly for 1 hour.
Remove leaves.
Arrange bananas on a 10-inch serving platter.
Dribble with 2 oz. MELTED BUTTER.
Serve as a vegetable.
When bananas are served as an accompaniment in Tanzania, they are rarely sweetened. We might find the bananas to be quite tasteless without the addition of a little sugar. Try them both ways-and you will find they are a most adaptable food.
On a cookie sheet or shallow baking pan:
Place 4 large BANANAS, unpeeled with ends cut off.
Bake at 425F for 15 minutes or until skin bursts and turns black.
Turn bananas over and bake on the other side for 5 minutes.
Peel the skins and cut the bananas in two.
Pour 1 tsp. MELTED BUTTER over each banana.
Sprinkle with: 1 tsp. BROWN SUGAR and
Arrange carefully on a small platter.
In a 1-quart bowl:
Prepare 1 cup PANCAKE MIX following package directions using enough liquid to form a thin consistency.
Cut 4 large PEELED BANANAS once lengthwise and once crosswise.
Dip the bananas in the batter.
In a medium skillet:
Saute each in enough hot oil to cover bottom of pan until bananas are golden brown on both sides.
Arrange on a small platter attractively.
Yams are almost as important in the African diet as rice-especially on the West Coast. This delicious root vegetable is prepared in so many ways, one could do a whole book on it alone. The most common types are the orange-yellow yam which we have here, and the white yam from which Foo-foo is made. Yams are boiled, mashed, pounded into flour, made into balls, fritters, soups, and sauces. Yams are often a part of stews-the most popular is called Palm Oil Chop.
Yam Potato Chips are a popular dessert.
Yam Chips: Slice yams thin as potato chips-deep fry at 375F quickly.
Yam Soup: Follow recipe for any chicken soup. Add enough yams to give it body (1 Ib. per 2 quarts of stock). Puree the soup for a new flavor sensation.
In a 2-quart saucepan:
Cover: 2 Ibs.YAMS (or sweets) peeled and cut in uniform 1/2-inch slices with
Cook until tender and drain. Shake over heat to dry out.
For seasoned flour:
Combine: 1 cup FLOUR
Dip yams in seasoned flour, then in following egg mixture:
Beat: 2 EGGS lightly with
Dip in the flour again.
Deep-Fat Fry at 360' or saute in oil until golden brown and serve very hot as a vegetable or side dish.
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