Practical West African cookery

Hard-boiled Eggs, Curried. (II). Cut two hot hard-boiled eggs in half and put them in the middle of a hot dish. Pour over them a teacupful of white curry sauce (see index), and serve with boiled rice round them. Stuffed Eggs in Batter. (II). For the stuffed eggs — 3 cold hard-boiled eggs. 1½ tablespoons fresh crumb of bread. 1 teaspoon butter, lard or 1 egg. 2 tablespoons flour. 3 tablespoons of milk (if Ideal, 1 teaspoon milk and the rest water.) ½ teaspoon olive oil or ground nut oil. ground nut oil. A pinch of salt. A pinch of pepper. A teaspoon chopped parsley, A pinch of salt. 1 breakfast cup of ground nut oil, in which to fry the fritters, and which can be put back again after use. For the batter To Make the Batter. Mix the flour and milk in the small pudding basin. Add the yolk only of the egg, the oil and the salt. Beat it all well together till it has the consistency of a thick cream. If too thin, add a little more flour ; if too thick, a little water. Cover the basin with a plate and let it stand till wanted, adding the white of the egg beaten stiff just before using. Fritters are much better if the batter is made a good two hours before it is wanted. To Stuff the Eggs. 1. Peel the eggs, cut them in half and carefully take out the yolk without breaking the white part. 2. Put the yolks into a cup, break them up with a fork, add the butter, lard or ground nut oil, the salt and pepper, and the parsley. Soak the bread in a little water, about two teaspoonfuls, till it is quite spongy, then add it to the yolks and mix all together to a smooth paste, which must be stiff but not hard. If too hard, a little water or milk can be added. 3. Fill the empty white halves with the paste, shaping it into little domes. To Fry the Eggs in the Batter. 1. Heat the ground nut oil in the flat saucepan, there must be enough oil to cover the eggs. When the oil has ceased to bubble, test it by throwing in a small piece of bread. If you hear the little sizzling sound of frying, the fat is ready. 2. With a spoon slip the stuffed eggs into the batter, covering them evenly with the mixture, then put them carefully one by one into the hot oil and take them out as soon as they are of a bright yellow colour. They will come out quite dry and free from grease if the oil has been hot enough. Note. — As has already been said in the case of fried fish, the fritters should not be fried till just before the time to serve. Eggs done in this way are made into a more substantial dish by serving them on spinach. Anchovy Eggs. (I). 2 cold hard-boiled eggs. 1 teaspoon butter or ground nut oil. 1 teaspoon anchovy paste or remains of potted meat or tinned salmon mashed. A small pinch of red pepper. A pinch of salt. A teaspoon of chopped parsley. 1. Cut the eggs in half, slicing a little off their bottoms so that they shall stand up. Carefully take out ,the yolks and lightly break them up with a fork ; add the anchovy or potted meat or salmon, the butter, pepper and salt, unless anchovy is used, which is already sufficiently salted, and the parsley if obtainable. Mix as lightly as possible so that the mixture should not be too pasty, and fill the empty halves with it. Stand them on a small dish.