photo by A. Davey
I have mentioned in prior posts that I once read the New York Times Magazine's food column, but have since given up. One of the main drivers that chased me towards the travel section was the addition of a series called "Cooking With Dexter". The series centers on a young cook, maybe 4 or 5, that has more annoying foodie street cred than some of the bloggers I've read. I have a kid the same age, and other than making play dough, I can't imagine him ever showing the slightest glimmer of the overly precocious Dexter's behavior.
I was poking around the interweb, learning about African street food, when I caught some mentions of Dabo Kolo. The only African food I cook on a regular basis are Moroccan tagines, so its time I learned more. One post in particular got me thinking about whether drawing the kid into cooking would be a good idea. Seems like a simple recipe and very kid friendly.
The short answer is it was a total failure. The Dabo Kolo turned out great, but the kid kept insisting we use his recipe, which had more to do with assembling everything in the pantry into a grey mush and cooking it.
The optional part of this recipe is the pepper. If you include the chili, I use the same reshampatti chili I use in Indian recipes, the end result is going to have a bite kids won't like. If you want to go the kid friendly route, cover the pieces with a little butter and cinnamon sugar while they are still warm.
Dabo Kolo
1 cup flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp hot red chili
1 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup warm water
Directions
- Mix all the ingredients together. Add the water slowly and mix together, making sure the dough is not too sticky.
- Knead on a floured surface.
- Pull off a ball of dough the size of a golf ball, roll out to form a strip of dough.
- Cook in a skillet with no oil until each piece is golden brown. Turn regularly.
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