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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781546278856 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 04/12/2019 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 100 |
| File size: | 8 MB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Chopfine!
Snacks/Appetizers
Akara Banana
Ingredients
• 10 fingers of very ripe bananas
• 1 small cassava tuber
• ¾ cup gari
• ¼ tsp. black pepper
• Salt to taste
Preparation
• Peel and blend or mash bananas
• Peel, wash, and grate cassava
• Squeeze out excess water from cassava
• Mix banana and cassava in a large bowl
• Add gari, pepper, and salt
• Mix very well
• Scoop/batter with fingers or spoon and make small round balls
• Deep fry a fair amount at a time until golden brown
Akara Beans
Ingredients
• 3 cups black eye peas
• 1 large onion
• 1 egg
• 1 habanero pepper
• ½ cup water (about)
• Salt to taste
• Oil for Frying
Preparation
• Wash beans and remove all skin by rubbing with hands or on a grater.
• Use water to get rid of the skins
• After all skin has been removed from the beans, soak in water for about an hour or more
• Blend beans and habanero pepper with a little water into a very fine paste
• Pour paste in a mortar and start stirring until paste begins to look fluffy
• Add salt, onions, and egg and keep stirring. The mixture will get fluffier.
• Add water (a little at a time) and keep stirring. Don't stop stirring!
• Heat oil until hot
• Scoop with a spoon and deep fry until golden brown
Pap (Corn Custard)
Ingredients
• 4 tbsp. pap
• 2 ½ cups water
• Some milk (condensed milk recommended)
• Sugar to taste
Preparation
• Mix pap with 1 cup water
• Boil remaining water
• Pour pap mixture into boiling water and stir
• Keep stirring until mixture is completely blended and even colored
• Add sugar and milk and mix
• Serve with akara beans or puff puff
Plantain Chips
Ingredients
• 15 green plantains
• Oil for frying
• Salt
Preparation
• Wash and peel plantains
• Slice into thin (round) shapes
• Heat oil until hot
• Fry a fair amount at a time
• Sprinkle with salt
• Cool and serve
Cassava Chips
Ingredients
• 4 medium size cassava tubers
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• Oil for Frying
• Salt
• Pepper
Preparation
• Peel and wash cassava tubers
• Slice into thin rectangular shapes
• Rinse and put in a strainer to drain excess water
• Heat oil until hot
• Fry a fair amount at a time
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper
Sweet Potato Chips
Ingredients
• 4 medium size sweet potatoes
• ½ tsp. white pepper
• ½ tsp. black pepper
• Oil for frying
• Salt
Preparation
• Peel and wash potatoes
• Slice into long thin shapes
• Rinse and put in a strainer to drain excess water
• Heat oil until hot
• Season potatoes with white pepper, black pepper, and salt
• Fry a fair amount at a time
• Can be served hot or cold
Corn Fritters
Ingredients
• 6 ears fresh corn (or 1.16 oz. bag sweet cut frozen corn)
• ¾ cup corn meal
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• ½ cup chopped celery
• 1 habanero pepper
• 1 small onion
• Salt
• Oil for frying
Preparation
• Pick corn kernel from corn cob
• Blend corn with habanero pepper
• Chop onion
• Mix everything together
• Heat oil until hot
• Scoop/batter with spoon or fingers and fry until golden brown
Plantain Fritters
Ingredients
• 6 very ripe plantains
• 2 cups of fl our
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• ¾ cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tbsp. butter (room temperature)
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 ½ tsp. nutmeg
• Pinch of salt
• Oil for frying
Preparation
• Peel and then mash/blend plantains until soft (set aside)
• Beat eggs (set aside)
• In a large bowl, mix blended plantains, fl our, and baking powder
• Add the rest of the ingredients
• Mix very well
• Heat oil until hot
• Scoop batter with spoon or fingers and fry until golden brown
Fried plantains (Dodo)
Ingredients
• 8 ripe plantains
• Oil for frying
• Salt
Preparation
• Wash and peel plantains
• Slice plantains into thin diagonal shapes
• Heat oil until hot
• Fry plantains until golden brown
• Sprinkle with salt
Fried Yams
Ingredients
• 1 small Calabar yam
• Oil for frying
• About a cup of water
• Salt
Preparation
• Peel and wash yam
• Slice yam into thin round slices
• Boil yam with a small amount of salt for about 10 minutes
• Put yam on a strainer to drain excess water
• Heat oil, until hot
• Fry yam until light brown
Meat Pies
Ingredients For PaStrY
• 5 cups of fl our
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 16 oz. cold water
• Pinch of salt
Ingredients for Filling
• 1 ½ lb. stew beef
• 1 large tomato
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 medium onion
• 2 tbsp. fresh ground garlic
• 1 tbsp. fresh ground ginger
• 1 habanero pepper
• 1 tbsp. fl our
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• Salt
• 2 eggs
Preparation
• Sift fl our, salt, and baking powder together
• Add butter and water and mix well
• Ensure it is firm
• Take dough out of bowl and put on a pastry board
• Use hands to knead dough until there are no cracks
• Set aside
Preparation
• Beat eggs and set aside
• Wash stew beef and season with some of the onions, ginger, garlic, and salt
• Cook until tender
• When stew beef is done, put in a strainer to drain broth
• Wash and chop tomatoes
• Chop onions
• Blend habanero pepper
• In a cooking pan, heat oil until hot
• Add onions, garlic, and tomatoes
• Cook until a little brown
• Add the stew beef and cook for about 10 minutes
• Add remaining ingredients plus 2 tablespoons of the beef broth
• Mix well and let cook for about 5 minutes
General Preparation
• Preheat oven to 350 °F
• Divide dough into 3 sections. Work with one section at a time
• On the pastry board, flatten dough using your palms and a rolling pin
• Make sure the pastry board is always lightly floured to keep the dough from sticking on the board
• When dough is flattened to desired thickness, use a biscuit cutter to cut out pastry
• Fill pastry and then brush the edges of pastry with eggs
• Flip pastry over and seal with a crimper or with a fork
• Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown
Puff Puff
Ingredients
• 4 cups of fl our
• 1 ¾ cup very warm water
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tsp. yeast
• Pinch of salt
• Oil for frying
Preparation
• In a large bowl, pour water and add yeast
• Wait for yeast to dissolve and then add sugar and salt
• Mix well
• Add fl our and mix until batter is smooth
• Cover and set aside for about 3 hours to rise
• Scoop with fingers and make balls. Deep fry until golden brown
Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. In traditional Cameroonian families, breakfast can be prepared with any food source. In most cases, it's whatever food is left over from the day before. We do have breakfast meals in Cameroon ... some traditional; some European or Western alternatives; and some totally made up. Try some of the Cameroonian breakfast recipes presented in this section. Try something new!
Crepe (Pancake)
Ingredients
• 2 cups flour
• 6 eggs
• 1/8 cup canola oil
• 2 cup cold water or milk
• ¼ cup of sugar
Preparation
• Put all ingredients in a blender
• Mix well
• Heat frying pan and brush with oil
• Pour in about ¼ cup of batter
• Spread batter to cover pan
• Cook until golden brown
• Flip crepe over and cook the other side
• Roll crepe and place on a plate
Pancake
Ingredients
• 2 cups flour
• 3 eggs
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 ¼ cup water or milk
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• Oil for deep frying
Preparation
• Mix all ingredients in a large bowl
• Heat oil in frying pan
• Scoop about ½ cup batter and pour in oil
• Several pancakes can be cooked at the same time
• Cook each side until golden brown
Corn Custard (Pap, Akamu)
Ingredients
• 4 tbsp. pap
• 2 cups water
• Sugar to taste
• Milk
Preparation
• Mix pap with some of the water to form a paste
• Boil the rest of the water and leave on the stove under low heat
• Pour paste into water and stir continuously
• Continue stirring until you get the thickness you want
• Add sugar and milk as desired
• Serve with akara beans, puff puff, scones, etc.
Rice Custard
Ingredients
• 1 cup rice fl our
• 2 cups water
• Sugar to taste
• Milk
Preparation
• Follow directions for corn custard
Chips and Eggs
Ingredients
• 8 large potatoes
• Oil for frying
• Salt to taste
Ingredients • 6 eggs
• ¼ cup onion (chopped)
• ¼ cup leeks (chopped)
• 1 small tomato (chopped)
• Oil for frying
• Salt to taste
Preparation
• Peel and wash potatoes
• Slice or cut potatoes to desired shapes
• Fry potatoes
Preparation
• Crack and beat eggs
• Pour some oil in a frying pan
• Pour in eggs cooking for about a minute
• Add onions, leeks, tomatoes, and salt
• Flip over and cook for another minute or two
Fried Yams and Eggs
Ingredients
• 1 small white yam • Salt to taste • 1 cup water • Oil for frying
Preparation
• Peel and wash yam
• Boil yams with salt for about 20 minutes
• Drain out excess water from yam and let cool
• Slice yams
• Pour oil in frying pan
• Fry yams until golden brown
Eggs (scrambled)
Ingredients
• 6 eggs • 1 small tomato (chopped) • 1 small onion (chopped) • Pepper to taste • Salt to taste • 2 tbsp. oil
Preparation
• Beat eggs in a large bowl
• Pour oil in frying pan over medium heat
Why the Pig goes around with its Nose on the Ground
A Cameroonian Folk Tale
Mebue, the pig and Nufi, the tortoise were childhood friends. They went to the farm together with their parents. They took their parents' harvest to the market together and they always stopped at Menla's, the village store for some palm wine on their way home from the market. The tortoise even named his first son after his friend the pig. Mebue and Nufiwere almost like brothers. They even got their tribal marks together.
Nufididn't like doing any work but Mebue was always able to get him to work if Mebue was also working. Curious enough, Nufialways looked for a way to get out of work whenever he could.
Mebue was a very hard worker. He spent long hours working on his farm making sure he had enough food saved for the rainy season. He always had more than enough saved and Nufiand his family always came to obtain food from Mebue during the rainy season. Mebue was always happy and willing to share the food with his friend.
Nufiliked having a good time. During the dry season, he spent most of the time drinking rather than going to the farm as others did. And so when the rainy season came around, he was always short on food for his family. Nufi's wife, Yomi needed some plastic shoes for the rainy season but Nufididn't have enough money to buy them for her. He decided to go to his friend, Mebue, to borrow money for the shoes. Mebue was happy to lend him the money.
Six months went by and Nufistill did not give back the money. In fact, he didn't make any effort to pay Mebue back. Later, Mebue came to ask for his money. As time went on, Nufidid as much as he could to avoid Mebue. One day Yomi was grinding some egusi on a grinding stone and Nufiwas sitting and warming himself by the fire. Then he heard Mebue telling a neighbor that he was going to Nufi's to collect his money and he wasn't leaving until he got the money. Nufitold his wife, Yomi to put the grinding stone away quickly and use him as the grinding stone instead. He warned her not to say a word to Mebue when he came to ask for the money.
Mebue walked into Nufi's home and straight into the kitchen where Nufi's wife was.
"Nda nda lo o o (hello!)," he greeted.
"O o o (yes)," Yomi answered.
"Is Nufihome?" Mebue asked.
Yomi did not answer. She was rather whistling as she kept on with her grinding.
Embarrassed at the silence and whistling, Mebue asked, "Is there something wrong with your hearing?" Again, Yomi ignored him and just continued with her grinding.
Mebue became very angry at being ignored and grabbed the grinding stone Yomi was using and threw it outside, straight into the trash heap.
Surprised and pretending to be mad, Yomi lifted her head and started crying.
Nufislowly turned over in the trash heap and walked into the kitchen as if nothing had happened.
Realizing that his wife was in tears, he asked why she was crying. Sobbing and stammering she told him, "Your friend here has thrown out my grinding stone which has been in the family for many, many years."
At that, Nufiturned around and confronted Mebue.
"Why would you do such a terrible thing to my wife?"
Mebue answered, "Because she wouldn't tell me your whereabouts."
Nufimoved closer to Mebue and yelled, "So, what do you want?"
"My money!" Mebue retorted scornfully.
"Is it because of that little money you lent to me that you are torturing my wife, Nufihissed?"
"Yes!" said Mebue rudely.
"Well, I have your money", Nufilied, "but to get it back you must find and return my wife's grinding stone first."
"No problem," said Mebue, confident the stone was out there in the trash heap somewhere.
He turned around and headed jauntily straight to the trash heap in the hope of picking up the grinding stone. To his utter surprise and embarrassment, he couldn't find it where he thought it had dropped when he tossed it out. Minutes later, he came back into the kitchen and told Nufihe couldn't find the grinding stone.
"Give me the money and I will come back later to look for the grinding stone," Mebue said almost pleading.
"No grinding stone, no money," Nufisaid defiantly.
Mebue went back outside hoping he had missed the grinding stone the first time because of his anger.
Confused, embarrassed, and his anger abating, he snorted and dug, and looked everywhere, but there was no grinding stone anywhere around the trash heap. Even as darkness began to creep upon the village, he just kept snorting, and digging, and looking.
Mebue never found the grinding stone. Until this day, he still goes around snorting and digging and looking for the grinding stone in the hope of one day going back to collect his money from Nufi.
Soups
In Cameroon cooking, as well as in most other African cuisine preparation, there are commonly two types of soups. Broth soups which are commonly called pepper soup and stews which can have a wide variety of thickness and are usually prepared with nuts, seeds, and/or vegetables.
Pepper soups are usually served as a one-meal dish. They are sometime served with plantains, yams, coco yams, potatoes, cassava, or other ingredients of one's choosing. Stews are frequently served with fufu, rice, plantains, cassava, potatoes, or some other starch.
Soups are a very important part of Cameroon cooking. They are used with almost every meal. Soups are prepared differently from region to region.
Achu Soup
Ingredients
• ½ lb. dried meat
• ½ lb. kanda (cow hide)
• 1 small dry fish
• 1 cup palm oil
• 2 tbsp. crushed kanwa (lime stone/potash)
• 1 tsp. jowe
• 1 tsp. country onion
• 4 cups water
• 2 habanero peppers
• Salt to taste
• 2 bouillons
Preparation
• Wash dried meat and kanda, cut into desired pieces, season with a little salt, and cook until tender
• Wash dry fish, cut into desired pieces, season with a little salt and then steam. If fish is too dry, cook until tender
• Finely ground country onions and jowe
• Heat water and put all meats, kanwa, and palm oil in a diff erent pot or bowl
• Slowly pour the warm water into the bowl with the kanwa, palm oil, and meats ... then pour back to bowl which had water
• Do this back and forth a few times. You will see the mixture changing from orange/red to yellow. Continue this process until the mixture is completely yellow
• Crush bouillons and then add habanero peppers, jowe, and country onions
• Continue mixing by slowly pouring the mixture from one bowl to the other
• When everything is completely mixed, you will get a perfect yellow consistency
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Ceci's African Kitchen"
by .
Copyright © 2019 Ceci Tchakounte Tadfor.
Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
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