Pumpkin Fat Cooks

Apparently it is now fall. It does not feel anything like it. Last week Tuesday we hit a high of 30 degrees Celsius, combined with the humidity and it feels like we are in a desert. At least that is how it felt like to me. This year more than ever I am looking forward to the wind and rain of winter. It will make it hard with Leo because I will have to keep him indoors. I will just have to find enough activities for us to do indoors.

Being that it is fall, everyone is obsessed with everything pumpkin.  I did not grow up in the north-western hemisphere so I do not get it. For Leo it will be different because there are a lot of events that are organised around pumpkins. In October I will be taking him to a pumpkin patch and I think he will enjoy it. The Zimbabwean in me is wondering why I am paying for him to see munda wemanhanga (a pumpkin patch) and why would that be interesting. The fact that his childhood is completely different from mine is not lost on me. It’s just I think it will be funny to my parents when I tell them that we are going to a pumpkin patch.

In Zimbabwe, pumpkin is eaten in two main ways, just boiled with a drink especially for breakfast or as nhopi. I decided to make pumpkin fat cooks. OMG, they are even better than the original fat cooks. Leo loved them.

I used canned pumpkin and it occurred to me that if you found a really sweet pumpkin like the one my aunt made for me you would not need to add any sugar to the fat cooks. The recipe is really easy, the ingredients are things that you most likely have in your pantry anyway. Pumpkin, flour, baking powder,sugar, salt, cinnamon, egg, and cooking oil. I love these kind of recipes I do not like buying ingredients that I will use for one recipe.

Mix everything but the cooking oil and fry on medium high heat. If you shallow fat fry then your fat cooks will be flat(ter) but if you deep fat fry they will be like balls. Taste will be the same so it becomes all about preference.

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Pumpkin Fat Cooks

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 12

Author Princess Tafadzwa

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked pumpkin
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 egg beaten
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• cooking oil for frying

Instructions

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the pumpkin and egg, add to the dry ingredients until combined. Do not over mix.
2. Heat oil to 350F
3. Spoon pumpkin mixture into oil about 2 minutes on each side. Drain on a paper towel.
4. Serve warm