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Show COOKING jAFKICA. Soma of the Queer and Palatable Dishes laten Without Any Particular ' Ceremony to Speak of. TEE FATE OP DEAD ANIMALS. Placed Upon Blocks of Wood and Pounded Until Every Individual Bone is Broken. As a rnlo only one principal meal is ften in central Africa in the early part of the evening. 'It usually consists of parrot soup, roasted or stewed monkeys, alligator eggs (also well liked by Europeans) Euro-peans) and birds of every description. They also have moambo, or palm chops, and fish. A great delicacy, so considered by Europeans and natives alike, is elephant's ele-phant's fect and trunk. These have somewhat the taste of veal. To prepare them the natives dig a hole about five feet deep in the sand, and in it build a largo fire. After the sand is thoroughly heated the fire is removed, leaving only the ashes in the hole. The trunk and feet ore placed in this hole and covered with leaves, and afterward with hot Band. In two hours they are done. All carcasses 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 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 a 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 dispensed dis-pensed with. . Africans have several vegetables well liked by Europeans. N'gutti-n'sengo ia a dish eaten all over Africa. It consists of egg plant, small fish somewhat like our sardines and the roots of the cassava or manioco plant (called n'guttt), which , have a knotty appearance and often weigh as much as twenty pounds. As the lattor contains poison the manioca is soaked in water for three to four duys to extract the poisonous Bub-Btance. Bub-Btance. It 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. Moambo, 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 delicious de-licious oil, is placed in a 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 the pulpy part of the palm nut, also tait pepper and salt, and is boiled. Roast or boiled squash (loenge) is generally eaten with it. Sweet potatoes (tn'balla benga) are more farinaceous and sweeter than ours, but do not taste bo good. They are boiled or roasted. Bananas (bitaobo) 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. N'sensi is a little red bean, which Is boiled in water without Bait 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 a banana, adding a little pressure, forming it into a body. It readily retains this shape from the pressure of the oily substance in the peanut. Exchange. |