Boil potatoes in water with 1 teaspoon salt for 5 minutes. Add the carrot and boil for an additional 5 minutes or until tender.
Boil beet and the eggs separately in water with 1 teaspoon salt until tender, then peel and dice finely. (Remove the eggs after 10 mins of ebullition)
Boil eggs separately in water with 1/4 teaspoon salt until hard, about 10 minutes. Cool and chop eggs.
In a bowl, place cubed potatoes, diced beet, chopped eggs, carrots and onion, the mayonnaise, the mustard, olive oil and salt. Stir and add salt to taste, if using.
3 cups all purpose flour for doughnuts, plus 2 tablespoons for dusting
2 tablespoons butter
1 packet (2¼ teaspoons) of dry yeast
½ cup white sugar
1 cup milk
1 egg
½ teaspoon salt
oil for frying
½ teaspoon nutmeg powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Fully melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and add milk, sugar, and salt. Mix well until everything is well dissolved. Crack an egg into the saucepan and mix well. Add the yeast and stir. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
Transfer to a large bowl. Add 3 cups flour and mix well with a wooden spoon. Add the nutmeg and vanilla extract. When everything is well mixed, use your hand to knead the dough for a few minutes, and shape it into a big lump. Cover with plastic wrap.
Let the dough rise until it doubles in size, usually about 1 hour to 1½ hours.
Deflate the gas with your hand and knead the dough for a few minutes until it’s soft and smooth. Cover with plastic wrap again and let it sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour until it doubles in size again.
Uncover the dough and knead it for a few minutes. Put 2 tablespoons of flour on the corner of your cutting board to use for dusting. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces and roll
Heat up oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat, until the temperature reaches 350° F. Lower the heat to medium heat, then gently set each doughnut into the hot oil by hand.
Cook for about 5 minutes, occasionally gently flipping them over with tongs, until they get crunchy outside and are evenly golden brown.
Place the doughnuts on paper-towel-lined-plates to drain.
Other names: Kom, Dokunoo, Dokono, Dokunu, Dokonou, Kenkey
Kenkey, dorkunu, dokonou or kom is a staple dish in Togo, Benin and Ghana similar to sourdough dumpling, usually served with pepper sauce, shitor (Yebesse fionfion) and fried fish or stew. It is usually made from ground corn (maize), like banku, Akoume, sadza and ugali. Making Kenkey involves letting the maize ferment before cooking for at least 5 days. Therefore, preparation takes a few days in order to let the dough ferment. After fermentation, the kenkey is partially cooked, wrapped in corn husks, plastic or foil, and steamed.
My one and only!!! My favorite food: Kom (Togo) Dokonou (Benin). Ghana has a similar dish Kenkey.
Our Kom is softer than Kenkey. Kom is served with a soup or stew or sauce. I prefer to eat my Kom with Yébésséssi, Ebesse fionfion, fried fish and sardine.
6 – 8 cups of corn
Agbelima (optional)
In a large container cover the corn with just enough water to dampen all of it. Set it in a warm place, such as a warmed oven or on top of the refrigerator, for 5 days. Fermentation may take longer than two days, especially in cool climates.
When it is properly fermented, it should have a slightly sour, but not unpleasant aroma, rinse and grind the corn.
Knead the fermented dough with your hands until it is thoroughly mixed and slightly stiffened. Divide the dough into two equal parts.
In a large pot, cook one part of the fermented dough. Cook for about ten minutes, stirring constantly and vigorously. Remove from heat. This half of the dough is called the “aflata”.
Combine the aflata with the remaining uncooked dough. Mix well.
Divide the aflata-dough mixture into serving-sized pieces. Wrap the pieces tightly in corn husks, or foil. At this point you can put it in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to cook
Steam the Kom for 30 to 60 mins, depending on their size and thickness. Serve room-temperature.
Grind 1 onion, 2 tomatoes and green chilies together, grind until smooth, but with a little texture remaining in the sauce. Add Salt to taste
Season and fry your fish with some garlic, ginger, salt and pepper.
Sever with Yébésséssi, fried fish, sardine and Yébéssé fionfion
Ask your fishmonger to gut, trim, and scale the fish. Once you get the fish home, clean the it thoroughly, specially the inner cavity. Trim the fins and tail if desired. Score a diagonal criss-cross pattern across the fish body on both sides.
Rub some salt, black pepper, garlic and turmeric powder on the fish.
Mix the spices and rub the spice paste generously on to the inner cavities and outside of the whole pomfret.
Heat oil on medium heat in a flat-bottomed non-stick pan. The oil should come up to the side of the fish. Heat the oil until it is smoking hot. Add habanero pepper, garlic and rosemary branch
Add the tilapia and turn the heat to medium.
Fry the fish for about 8-10 minutes on each side. To turn the fish, slowly scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen the fish. If the fish is ready, it should be very easy to loosen the fish. While frying, occasionally tilt the pan from side to side, so that the head and tail get submerged and crisped along with the mid-section of the fish.
Peel and cut the yam tuber into 1 inch cylindrical discs. Make several cuts across the discs to get large chips. Wash the yam chips and place in a bowl.
Add a little salt and toss the contents to distribute the salt. Set aside for 20 mins
Fry the yam at 350F
When the oil is heated, add a few yam chips, leaving enough room for flipping the chips.
Stir the chips till they have turned golden.
Remove the chips and place in the paper towels to absorb the oil.
Thoroughly clean the fish and rinse with water and vinegar (or lemon). Salt your fish.
Blend an onion, garlic, ginger, clove, all spice and dry red pepper and then season the fish with. Allow to rest at least 4 hours.
In a saucepan, heat the oil, add a chopped onion, and stir. Then add the concentrated tomato, the crushed tomato and the water and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the fish and spices.
Add the cube, baking soda and cover the pan and cook for 20 minutes. Do not use the spoon after adding the fish, stirring in circular motions with the pan.
Add the West Indian peppers. Cover the pan for about 5 minutes.
Tuo Zaafi
1 pack of ademé leaves (frozen) (Ayoyo leaves)
1 fish “lahoin” (dried and fermented fish)
1/2 onion
1 cube
Salt
Put a little water in the bottom of a pot, and add the potash and as soon as the water begins to boil the leaves of ademe.
Add the fish “lahoin” and 1/2 onion
With the help of a spoon, break the leaves of Ademe.
Le Ablo is a Togolese (Abolo Beninese) steamed rice and corn flour dish. The traditional method takes time, although most of it involves inactive waiting periods. The process spans three to four days from the first rice soaking to taking the finished product out of the steamer. In the original recipe the mixture of rice four is steamed in a banana leave or an aluminum mold lined with plastics.
No cornstarch Rice cakes (Ablo)
I use real cute silicone molds. Properly prepared, the Ablo imparts the slightly yeasty aroma of fermented rice batter. It should be neither sticky nor dry and crumbly. The Ablo should be soft, moist, and with a fine, uniform grain. The essential flavor should be of freshly cooked rice, but it may be sweetened a bit. A lot of people requested the recipe of Ablo without cornstarch, So here it is:
Ingredients
2 cup rice
4~6 tablespoons granulated sugar (or more according to your taste)
1 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoons yeast
1/4 teaspoon salt
How to make No cornstarch Rice cakes (Ablo)?
Soak the rice overnight
The next day, drain the water and blend the rice with 1 cup water.
Boil 1 cup of water and 1/3 of the blended mixture and cook for 3 mins
Mix the cooked mixture, the remaining blended rice, sugar, yeast (and water if needed). Place in a warm place for 30 mins.
While the mixture is rising, prepare your molds.
Add baking powder and salt. Whisk the batter until just smooth.
Fill the mold to the 3/4. Let the mixture rise in the mold for 30 min.
Bring a steamer with water to running boil.
Working in batches and place the mold in the steamer. Steam for 25 minutes, or until the Ablo have risen and are firm to the touch.
Remove from the molds and enjoy warm or at room temperature. Serve warm with mgbagba, jus de tomate, piment…
Tips on how to make fluffy Ablo:
It is not recommended to use rice flour for this recipe as it will yield a slightly sticky cake with tint of yellow instead of snow-white rice cake.
Make sure the rice-sugar mixture is cool completely before adding the dissolved yeast.
You will need a steamer for this recipe. Make sure your steamer is ¾ filled with water. Let the steamer boils on high heat for at least 10 minutes before steaming the cakes.
If your yeast isn’t frothy or bubbly after 10 minutes, it’s probably expired. The active dry yeast is the key ingredient in this recipe.
