Practical West African cookery

2. Sprinkle the flour on the cook’s board and empty on to it the contents of the pudding basin. If the mixture is too sloppy to shape properly, add a pinch of flour, then shape into small round cakes about half an inch thick and roll the cakes again in the flour on the board. 3. Melt the lard in the small frying pan — there will be just enough to grease it. Put in the cakes and fry them till they are light brown, turning them once over so that they colour equally on both sides. Serve at once. Note. — Mashed native beaus can be made up in the same way, also boiled rice or boiled atcha. 2 good tablespoons rice. 1 egg. 1 tablespoon milk (or 1 teaspoon Ideal and the rest water.) 1 tablespoon flour. Rice Fritters. (II). J teaspoon baking powder. 1 breakfast cup ground nut oil, 1 breakfast cup boiling water. 1 pinch nutmeg. A pinch of salt and pepper. 1. Wash the rice and put it into the saucepan with the boiling water. Native rice, if the water is kept well on the boil, is cooked in eight minutes. Put the rice in the colander to drain and stand it by the fire. 2. Put the dried rice in the small pudding basin, mix in the flour, the yolk of egg (keep the white aside), the milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg. Beat the white to a snow and add it to the mixture : lastly add the baking powder. 3. Heat the oil in the flat saucepan. When it has ceased to bubble, drop in teaspoonfuls of the mixture one by one. This will form little croquettes. When they turn yellow take them out, place them on a sieve and shake lightly to remove the grease. Serve at once. Notes. — If English rice is used, proceed exactly in the same manner but the rice will take at least ten minutes longer to cook. If the fritters are required for a sweet, proceed exactly in the same manner, omitting the salt and pepper and substituting a good dessertspoon of powdered sugar. Croquettes of mashed yams or sweet potatoes, mashed native beans or boiled atcha can be made in the same way. A teacup of the yams, sweet potatoes, beans or atcha to the same proportion of ingredients. Tumuku or Risga. (I). 1 breakfastcup tumuku or 1 dessertspoon butter or lard risga. (no oil), li breakfastcups water or £ teaspoon salt. stock. \ teaspoon pepper. 1 teaspoon flour. 1. Wash the tubers in cold water and scrape off the fine skin with a knife. 2. Put the cold water or stock, the flour, butter or lard, salt and pepper into the saucepan, bring it to the boil. When boiling, put in the tumuku or risga. Move the saucepan a little aside and let it boil slowly till the tubers are done, they should be quite tender when tried with a fork. Serve them with a little of the liquid they have been cooked in. Native Spinach. (I). 4 handfuls of spinach leaves. £ teaspoon butter. 1 teaspoon milk. A pinch of salt, pepper and sugar. 1. Pick out the young leaves and strip them from their stems. Wash them twice very carefully in cold water and throw them into three pints boiling water in the large saucepan. Keep the water boiling fast for five or six minutes, and do not put the lid on the saucepan. 2. Empty the spinach into the colander and press it well down to drain out all the water, then put the leaves on the cook’s board and mince them with a knife.