The Dickinson press., 1890-11-08
CENTRAL AFRICAN COOKERY.
Queer nnd I'alatablc Dishes Eaten With.
out nIucL Ccramnny.

queer nnd Ialatablr Dishes Eaten With.
out Much Ceremony.
AS a rule only n principal meal is
eaten i'll central African the early part
of the evening. 1t usually consists of
parrot soup, roasted or stewed monkeys,
alligator eggs (also we'll liked by Euro
poans) and birds Of every description.
They also have moalnbo, or palm chops,
and fish. A great delicacy, so considered
by Europeans and natives alike, is ele-
plants feet and trunk. These have
somewhat the taste of veal. To prepare
them the natives dig u hole about five
feet deep i'll the sand, and in it build a
large fire. After the sand is thoroughly
heated the fire is removed, leaving only
the ashes in tho hole. The trunk and
feet are placed in this hole and covered
with leaves, and afterwarl with hot
sand. In two hours they are done.
All c%arcasses of animals which are to
be cooked are placed on a block of wood
and pounded until every bone is broken,
care being taken not to tear or bruise the
skin. They ;lre then boiltl or roasted on
an open wood fire or iii hot sand OF ashes,
without removing the, hide or feathers.
The cooking is of o very inferior grade,
the only spices used being salt and pepper.
The kitchen utensils consist of common
eartllen O. woodenware. Very little time
is taken for setting OF. decorating the
table; knives, forks. and napkins are dis
pensed with.
Africans have several vegetables well
liked by Europeans. N'gutti-n'sengo is
a dish eaten all over Africa. 1t consists
Of egg plant, small fish somewhat like
our sardines and tho roots of the cassava
OF manioca plant Called n'guttD, which
have a knotty appearance and often
weigh as much as twenty pounds.
AS the latter contains poison the
manioca is soaked In water for three to
four days to extract the poisonous sub
stance. 1t is then cut and sliced and
small tomatoes are added. Allis placed
in a vessel with water, and seasoned
with salt and pepper and boiled. Mo-
ambo, or, as the Europeans call it, palm
chops, is also a favorite dish. The palm
nuts are first boiled in water until the
pulpy substance loosens from the pit,
then the shell, which contains a very de-
licious oil, is placed in q wooden mortar
and crushed to obtain the oil. Whatever
the meal: consists of-meat, fish, mussels
is put in a vessel, adding the oil and
tho pulpy part Of the palm nut, also red
pepper and salt, and is boiled. Roast OF
boiled squash Qoenge) is generally eaten
with it. Sweet potatoes (m'balla bengal
are more farinaceous and sweeter than
ours, but do not taste SO good. They
r boiled OF roasted.
Bananas (bitaebe) weigh about half a
pound each and are about fifteen inches
long. When half ripe they are cut i'll
slices and boiled in water with salt and
pepper.
N'sensi is little red bean, which i:
boiled in water without salt or pepper
and is freely eaten. For peanut breai
(chisulu) the peanuts are first roasted
and then crushed. This mass is ther
rolled and put into the skin of a banana
adding a little pressure, forming it into
q body. 1t readily retains this shape
from the pressure of the oily substance
in the peanut.-Exchange.