Little Banana Cakes from Mali

Mali, a former colony of France but independant since 1960, is one of the poorest countries in West Africa. Especially the North is suffering from an unfortunate climate with cold winters, few and short rain periods and droughts. 
This might explain the very few ingredients for those little cakes, which are so easy to make that you can prepare them still half asleep. 
This recipe is proof for the fact that tasty meals do not have to be complicated or include a long list of ingredients. 

Ingredients:

• 6 ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• a dash of nutmeg
• oil

Mash the bananas with a fork. 
Dissolve the sugar in the warm water. 
Combine the flour with the water and the bananas to get smooth batter. Season with a little bit of nutmeg.
Heat the oil in a pan and drop a spoonful of batter into the pan, about the size of a small fist. 
Bake on each side until the cakes are golden brown. 
And that's it!
You can serve them as they are, dust them with icing sugar or serve with some maple syrup. 


Serves four

Tip: if you have ripe bananas and don't need need them right away, mash and freeze them (for up to 3 months). You can use them for this recipe, but also for banana bread, muffins, cakes and so on!

Mint Tea

Tea is one of the favorite beverages in most African or Arab countries. It is refreshing and –believe it or not- hot tea cools one down in the desert heat!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of boiling water
• 1 heaped tbs. of loose green tea (or 2 bags)
• 1 small cup of sugar
• 1 cup of young mint leaves, crushed
• 3-4 young mint leaves for decoration

Warm the pot with a little of boiling water and pour it away.
Place the loose tea in the pot and add 1 cup of boiling water. Allow it to stand for 3 minutes. Place the crushed mint and the sugar in the pot, and then add the rest of the boiling water. Cover the pot and allow it to stand for 5 minutes.
Using a strainer, pour the tea into small cups or heat-proof glasses.