Category: fusion

Honeyed Sweet Potato Balls with Simsim(Sesame)

~ Sophie ~ 2 Comments

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There are days when food is in season (and those are the best days) that we find ourselves stocking up on fresh produce. For example, there was one time when sweet potatoes were in season (and incredibly cheap) that we bought half a sack for only 5000 shillings. After sometime though, people started complaining since we had exhausted all methods of cooking sweet potatoes known to us. But then there is this cookbook that resides in a corner somewhere and I remembered flipping through it and bookmarking all the dishes I want to try out when the time is right(I am still waiting for the time to be right!) and these sweet potato balls were high on that list. So I set out to experiment with everyone skeptical on how it will turn out since sweet potatoes, sugar and milk are an odd combination. I’d like to say I was not disappointed. These balls turned out great. They are a little bit on the radical side and it would take a real food enthusiast to love the flavor and texture. Nevertheless, they are really great and can be cool fancy desserts to impress your guests.

What you will need:

4C. Sweet potatoes, boiled and mashed

2Tbsp. Margarine(blue band)/butter

500gm Bread crumbs/ 4 slices of bread)

1/2 C. Milk

1/2 C. Honey

I cup simsim(sesame)

Method

Peel sweet potatoes, cut them into medallions and boil them till tender. Let them cool completely. Using a glass, mash the potatoes in a bowl. Add the margarine and mix well. In a separate bowl, mix the 1/2 cup of milk with the 1/2 cup of honey and stir till a syrup forms. Pour the syrup in the sweet potato mix and mix well. Next add the bread crumbs and mix till the mixture forms a firm dough. Using your hands, form small bite-sized balls and roll them in the simsim. After all the mixture is formed into balls and rolled in simsim, chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Serve

Apart form steaming, how do you prepare your sweet potatoes? Let me know in the comments section below.

Oh and by the way, head over to AfricanWoman to get a recipe on how to prepare Sautéed Irish Potatoes.

Have a great week.

🙂

Sophie

 

PS: This recipe is adapted from Tickle Your Taste Buds Internationally.

Lemon Iced Tea

~ Sophie ~ 9 Comments

 

I remember the first time I had iced tea, I was sold. I vowed to make it one day. That was way back in primary school. Somehow the taste of that lemon-mint flavored bottled iced tea stuck in my memory till this tea was made this last Sunday. Tasting it, I realized it was so close to that tea I had tasted over six years ago. Nothing can beat that feeling of recreating something. So I am here to share with you this relatively easy iced tea recipe.

What you’ll need:

3 Litres water

5 Teabags

2 ½ Lemons

Ice cubes/ crushed ice

Sugar

Method

In a large sauce pan, add the water and the teabags and bring to a boil. When the tea has boiled, remove from fire and let it cool completely. Squeeze the lemons and sieve the juice. Add the lemon juice and sugar in the cooled down tea and stir thoroughly till the sugar is fully dissolved. Chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Serve with lots of ice cubes and a lemon slice or wedge.

I know you are wondering why all that much tea but it goes in an instant, trust me. Especially now that the weather is scorching hot. The secret to making great iced tea is having a lot (A LOT) of ice cubes!I did not put any measurement for sugar since we all have different preferences when it comes to sweetness. For the record, almost a kilo went down while making this.

How  did you celebrate the women in your life?

Have a great week

 

🙂

Sophie

Banana Pancakes

~ Sophie ~ 4 Comments

 

Who loves Pancakes? And by pancakes I mean Kabalagala? Better yet,  have you ever tried making Kabalagala? I have many times all the way from my childhood… and I haven’t made the perfect Kabalagala. They are either hard, rubbery, floury or  taste like baking powder. So naturally I would just buy from the experts who  just have the magic touch. I have noticed that these perfect pancakes/Kabalagala are usually found on the streets. There is so much talent on the streets of  this nation food-wise!

So due to my failure to make a perfect Kabalagala, I decided to do it the easier way. The western pancake, Ha!  You know the one with milk and eggs. It was one random day where bananas were available and we just kept adding ingredient by ingredient. The ones that worked, we kept note and the ones that did not work, we still kept note. The first time it was a hit then the second time, it tasted even better. So are you ready to try  this pancake with eggs?

What you will need

4 Medium bananas

2 eggs

½ Tsp. Ground ginger

6 Tbsp. Milk

2 Tbsp.  Cassava flour

1 ½ Tbsp. Baking (wheat) flour

1 Tbsp. Sugar

Cooking oil

 

Method

In a bowl, mash the bananas with a glass. Crack the eggs in the bananas and using a fork, Whisk the eggs in the bananas. Next whisk in the ground ginger , sugar, cassava flour,  and baking flour. Pour in the milk and whisk till evenly distributed. Set aside. On medium heat, add a tablespoon of cooking oil in a frying pan and let it cook for a few seconds. Depending on the size you want for the pancakes, Use a ladle to scoop the pancake mix and gently pour it in the frying pan and cook until some bubbles appear on the top and the underside is golden brown and crisp. Using a spatula, flip the pancake and let the other side cook for some minutes. Make sure it does not burn since it has milk.  Remove from the frying pan and repeat the process till the pancake mixture is done.  Garnish with sliced bananas or serve with Zesta red plum jam.

 

Women’s day is around the corner… and we are all geared up to celebrate in every possible way. By celebrate I mean making the women in our lives feel extra special (because they are special every day of every year!). While there are parties, concerts and banquets happening, you can make this banana pancake for the special woman/women in your life or you could choose to make  any of these dishes for them.

 

What are you doing for  women’s day?

 

🙂

Sophie

 

PS: . If you don’t have non stick pan, butter or margarine (blue band) will work best since it prevents the pancakes from sticking to the pan.

PPS: Also I’m still vigorously trying my hand at the Kabalagala. The day I make edible ones, you’ll know about it here!