Practical West African cookery

1. Mix the cornflour and cocoa together, add four tablespoons milk. Mix it into a paste, slowly adding the rest of the milk and the crushed sugar, put it into the large enamel saucepan, bring it to the boil, stirring well. Let it boil for eight minutes, stirring continually, add a few drops vanilla and take it off the fire. 2. Rinse the large pudding basin in cold water and immediately pour in the pudding and stand it in the cooler for a good hour. When required for serving turn it out gently on to a dish. Banana Fritters. (II). 2 bananas. ] 1 breakfast cup ground nut oil. Batter (see index). 1. Slice the bananas lengthways. If possible, soak the slices for an hour in two tablespoons water mixed with one tablespoon gin, and sweetened with a teaspoon sugar. This will give them much more flavour. 2. Have the batter ready and the oil very hot in the fiat saucepan, take the slices out, dip them in the batter, slide them carefully into the hot oil. Fry till bright yellow, take them out, drain them well and serve very hot, sprinkled with sugar. Note. — Bananas are also very good, simply sliced, put in the glass dish and covered with cold custard. (See index). Paw Paw Fritters. (11). 1 teaspoon gin. 1 dessertspoon sugar. Batter (see index) . 1 breakfast cup ground nut oil. 1 large unripe paw paw. 1 teacup water. The juice of half a lime and some of the peel. 1 clove. 1. Cut the paw paw in quarters, peel them and take out the seeds. Cut about eight rounds out of these quarters about an inch and a quarter across and a quarter of an inch thick. 2. Put in the small enamel saucepan the cold water, lime juice and peel, sugar and clove. As soon as it boils put in the rings of paw paw and boil slowly till the paw paw is almost soft and transparent. 3. Take out the rings and put them to soak in a dessertspoon of the syrup they have been cooking in mixed with a teaspoonful gin. Let them soak for a good hour. 4. Have the batter ready and the oil very hot in the fiat saucepan. Take out the rings of paw paw, dip them in the batter and slide them carefully into the hot oil. Fry them till they are pale yellow, take them out, drain off the grease and serve very hot, sprinkle with sugar. These fritters, well made, are quite delicious. Pine Apple Fritters. (II). Cut five or six slices about a quarter of an inch thick from a fresh or tinned pine apple. Peel them well and cut out the hard core with a pointed knife. Soak them and fry them in batter exactly like bananas. Note. — Any peaches or apricots left over from an opened tin can be used in the same way. Sweet Omelet. (I). 3 eggs. 1 tablespoon jam. 1 dessertspoon sugar. 1 good teaspoon butter. 1. Break the eggs, letting the yolks fall into the small pudding basin and emptying the whites into a soup plate. Beat the whites to a snow, not too stiff. 2. Well mix the yolks with a fork and add the powdered sugar. Lastly put in the beaten up whites. 3. Melt the butter in the small omelet pan ; when quite hot and singing pour in the eggs and treat them like you would for a plain omelet. When done, slide on to a hot dish, put the jam in the middle, fold the omelet and serve very hot sprinkled with a little sugar. Note. — The omelet is much improved by adding a dessertspoon brandy or kirsch to the eggs before pouring them into the frying pan.