Bringing Central African cuisine to West Africa (part II)

The other Central African treat that I got to enjoy in Yola this past weekend was ntete, again I’m using the name used in Congo (Kituba). Known as “egusi pudding” in parts of Cameroon, this can supposedly be obtained at a couple Cameroonian restaurants in Maryland (in the DC Metro area), for example--The Roger Miller Cafe and A Kitchen Near You--but only on special order with ample notice of interest ahead of time. I was never able to arrange this while in DC but I had consequently built up an appetite for this a few months back and ended up finding a recipe, testing it out, and then making a big batch as part of an international foods cook-off at my old office, for which I won prize for best appetizer J

Anyways, getting back to Yola ... On Saturdays, the university arranges for a bus to take faculty to the market. The gas and electric technicians showed up at my door just before bus for the market was too arrive (oh dear, I feel a brief digression coming on). Well, actually, I don't think they "arrived" just then. Rather, I opened in anticipation of the bus arriving at any minute to find the technicians had been waiting quietly outside all morning. A bit confused as to what to do since I was set to go the the market, I conceded "well, let's get this over with since they're here, even if I end up missing the ride to the market." First, the technician looks at the stove piping and repeats something I gathered from the housing coordinator earlier in the week. "The stove unit itself has problems, so you'll need to arrange for a new one to be supplied." Okay, that's straightforward enough. Are we done for now? Maybe I won't miss the bus after all. "Well, maybe I can make it work?" Whoa! Which is it? Either the stove is condemned or not? I like your first diagnosis. Let's just wait and get a new stove. The technician, who apparently brought no tools!, proceeds to borrow a butcher's knife from my kitchen to cut a few inches off the gas tube. Then he asks he asks one of his assistants to see if he can go and fetch or borrow a shifting spanner (an  adjustable wrench, that is). Oh dear. Before they run off to bug the neighbors or drive home to get a wrench, I lend them the one I had just bought to put my bicycle together. He reconnects the tubing and tightens it firmly, then borrows my sponge and dish soap to coat the connection with soap suds to see if any gas is leaking. Checks out okay. No apparent leaks. Now, let's go ahead and test the burners. He turns on one burner and starts randomly flicking the lighter in a guessing game (for him) as to which burner goes he had just turned on. Um, excuse, I think it's this one, as indicated on the knob. (Granted, those stove-knob-to-burner indicators can be a bit confusing, but you'd think a gas technician would know a thing or two about testing gas stove burners!)

End of digression. The bus actually came closer to 10:30, so market trip was still on. And in spite of some lingering apprehension about whether or not I could truly count on a stove to cook with now, I could keep cooking items in mind while at the market. Inspired when I came across one of the many egusi melon seed stands, I bought the ingredients to make a batch of egusi pudding: freshly ground egusi melon seeds, some smoked fish, ginger root, maggi cube seasoning. I already had onion, salt, and red pepper at home. I asked where to find banana leaves – not an ingredient! ... but necessary for the preparation of this dish – but I was told “only in the bush (out in the villages)”. So, I had the ingredients, but I’ll still needed to find banana leaves or figure out how to make do with something else. Later that day, while sweeping some leaves off my back patio, the guard, Bappa, came around to tell me there was a gardener/grounds keeper who’s job it was to do such work (as if it was a crime or a burden for me to wave a broom for a few seconds). The conversation turned to gardening and the things one might plant in the tiny plot of dirt next to the patio, and Bappa then drew my attention to the obvious: I had two banana trees growing next to the fence – one of which bore a regime of bananas that is getting close to the right size for harvesting, by the way. No need to hunt for banana leaves; I could make egusi pudding preparation part of my activities for Sunday.

Banana trees in my back patio

So, I chopped off one of the banana leaves in my back yard. Of course, an extra chore was to wash off the lizard poop and such :P

I'll just wrap up this blog entry with a pictorial summary of how to make egusi pudding:

Ingredients for egusi pudding: ground egusi melon seed (1 cup is plenty)  and seasonings of you choice (typically minced onion, fresh chopped ginger, salt, "maggi" cube, small chunks of smoked fish, fresh and/or ground hot pepper)

Mix ingredients together and a stir in enough water to make a relatively thick paste  (but still a little wet/loose)

Bundle a couple tablespoons worth of mixture in banana leaves (what is shown in this picture is a bit too much). In  place of twine, a strip from the spine of the banana leaf us generally makes a good tying strap)

Submerge egusi pudding bundles in boiling water and heat (over medium heat to light boil) for a couple hours

Remove egusi pudding bundles pot after boiling for a couple hours

egusi pudding, ready to eat; pairs well with Campari :)