Fruit Salad

A wide variety of tropical fruits, both native and non-native, are cultivated in Africa. It is more likely that any of the fruits listed in this recipe would be eaten as a snack than made into an elaborate fruit salad. In Western Africa, the closest thing to a dessert course is the "after-chop" and a popular "after-chop" is fruit salad. Fruit Salad is usually served after a meal of Groundnut Stew or Palm-Oil Chop. In Eastern Africa, Swahili people make a Saladi ya Matunda for dessert. One interesting thing about the African fruit salad is the use of the avocado. A perfectly fine fruit salad can be made from just three or four of the ingredients listed below. A fruit salad makes a fine dessert course for an African-style dinner.

What you need

* Any of the following (fresh or canned):
o avocado
o banana
o grapefruit
o guava
o mango
o melon
o orange
o papaya
o peach
o pear
o pineapple
o tangerine
* juice of one lemon -- or -- chopped, crushed mint leaves
* grated coconut or chopped roasted peanuts
* sugar (optional) (honey can also be used)

What you do

* If using canned fruits: drain and save the liquid. Peel and remove seeds from the fresh fruit as necessary, cut fruit into bite-sized pieces.
* Combine all fruit in a glass bowl. Add the lemon juice (or mint leaves), some sugar water (water which has been boiled, mixed with sugar, and allowed to cool--or use some of the liquid from the canned fruits). Stir gently. There should only be enough liquid to coat the fruit; it does not have to be covered in liquid.
* Cover the fruit salad and allow it to stand for a half hour before serving. The fruit salad may be refrigerated after it has stood for an hour. It should be eaten the same day it is made. It does not keep well overnight.
* Top with grated coconut or chopped peanuts immediately before serving.
* Eastern Africa's Saladi ya Matunda is made without the lemon juice, (or mint), coconut or peanuts; it substitutes sugar for sugar water.

A simple fruit snack or dessert: Any of the fruit above, with honey dripped over it.
Speaking of honey and Africa, do you know about the Honey Guide? Read about it on the Cardamom Tea page.

The watermelon and many other members of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae, which includes gourds, melons, pumpkins, and squashes) are native to tropical Africa and widely cultivated there. Watermelon have been cultivated in the Eastern hemisphere for thousands of years; they appear in ancient Egyptian art and Sanskrit literature.

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