- Africa
Madagascar
Since Madagascar is a tropical island off the east coast of Africa, its cuisine includes a lot of rice, fish, seafood and fruit. It is influenced by both French and Polynesian flavors, with subtle curries. A popular national snack in Madagascar is banana fritters, which can often be bought on the side of the road for less than a dollar.
Banana Fritters
Ingredients
- 6 well ripened bananas
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- Vegetable oil for frying
Directions
- Mash bananas with a fork or use blender to make into a pulp.
- Add flour.
- Mix water and sugar to make a syrup.
- Add syrup and nutmeg to bananas and flour (add more water, if needed, to make batter to pancake consistency.)
- Mix well. Fry like pancakes in oiled frying pan until golden brown.
Niger
Every few years locusts swarm across Africa, the Middle East and Asia devouring plants and crops. So... if you can't beat them, eat them. In Africa people refer to them to as desert shrimp, while in Asia they are called flying shrimp. Taste one and find out for yourself if they really do taste like shrimp. Also, Locusts are very rich in protein, so skip the egg whites and grilled chicken and chomp on these instead.
Crunchy Spicy Locusts
Ingredients
- Headgear flashlight
- Plastic bag
- Vegetable oil
- Locusts
- Salt
- Chili powder
Directions
- During locust season go outside at night with flashlight on your head and plastic bag. As the locust fly towards you attracted to the light, pick them off of you and place them in the bag.
- Once you get in the kitchen, remove the wings by pulling them off.
- Wash the locust and pat dry.
- Fill a pan with about 1 inch of vegetable oil. Heat on medium high until when you flick water at the oil, the water splatters.
- Drop locusts in hot oil for two minutes.
- Place on plate with paper towel to absorb oil.
- Sprinkle with chili powder and salt.
- In the morning let the plate sit outside in the sun for a few hours so the locusts get crunchy.
