The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-09-04
CENTRAL AFRICAN COOKERY.
Queer and Palatable Dishes Eaten With
out Much Ceremony.

Queer and Palatable Dishes Eaten With
out Much Ceremony.
AS a rule only one principal meal Is
eaten in central Africa-in the early part
of the evening. 1t usually consists Of
parrot soup, roasted or stewed monkeys,
alligator eggs (also well liked by Euro
peans) and birds of every description.
They also have moambo, or palm chops,
and fish. A great deicacy, 80 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 hole about five
feet deep in the sand, and In it build q
large fire. After the sand IS thoroughly
heated the fire is removed, leaving only
the ashes in the hole. The trunk and
feet are placed in this hole and covered
with leaves, and afterward with hot
sand. In two hours they are done.
All caroasses of animals which are to
be cooked are placed on block Of wood
and pounded until every bone is broken,
care being taken not to tear or bruise the
skin. They are then boiled or roasted on
an open wood fire or in hot sand or ashes,
without removing the hide or feathers.
The cooking is of very inferior grade,
the only spices used being salt and pepper.
The kitchen utensils consist of common
earthen or woodenware. Very little time
is taken for setting or decorating the
table; knives, forks and napkins are dis
pensed with.
Africans have several vegetables well
liked by Europeans. N'gutti-n'sengo is
dish eaten all over Africa. 1t consists
of egg plant, small fish somewhat like
our sardines and the roots of the cassava
or manioca plant called nlgutti), which
nave 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. All is 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 favorite dish. The palm
nuts are first boiled in water until the
pulpy substance loosens from the pit,
then the shell, which contains very de-
hcious oil, is placed in a wooden mortar
and crushed 10 obtain the oil. Whatever
the meal consists of-meat, fish, mussels
is put in a vessel, adding the oil and
the pulpy part of the palm nut, also red
pepper and salt, and Is boiled. Roast or
boiled squash Qoenge) is generally eaten
with it. Sweet potatoes I'm balls bengal
are more farinaceous and sweeter than
ours, but do not taste SO good. They
are boiled or roasted.
Bananas Cbitaebe) weigh about half a
pound each and are about fifteen inches
long. When half ripe they are cut in
slices and boiled in water with salt and
pepper.
Nsensi is a little red bean, which Is
boiled in water without salt or pepper
and is freely eaten. For peanut bread
(chisulu) the peanuts are first roasted
and then crushed. This mass is then
rolled and put into the skin Of banana,
adding little pressure, forming it into
a body. 1t readily retains this shape
from the pressure of the oily substance
in the peanut-Bxchange