N'dizi Na Kasted from Zanzibar

N'dizi is the Kiswahili word for bananas. Zanzibar is an island off the coast of Tanzania, famous for its spices. When you go there for a beach holiday, you will be served delicious desserts which utilise the fruit and spices from the island. The bananas in the dessert can be substituted with crushed or diced pinapple, but then it will be Mananasi Na Kasted, mananasi being the Kiswahili for pineapple. This dessert can be made with vanilla, butterscotch or caramel packaged pudding. It can also be made with the pouring ready-made custard you buy at the supermarket. Alternatively you can make your own custard from custard powder. Do not make it too thick though. Since Zanzibar is the Spice Island, you cannot leave out the spices as that is what makes this dessert unique.

Custard for 4-6 servings

3 bananas peeled and sliced
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

pinch nutmeg

1/2 cup sugar

4 tablespoons peanuts finely chopped

whipped cream

Put the banana slices in the parfait glasses or champagne flutes or whatever glasses you are using for this dessert. In a small bowl mix together the cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, sugar and peanuts. Fill one third of the glass with custard, then sprinkle a teaspoon of the spice/sugar mixture, pour in another third of custard and sprinkle the top with another layer of the spice/sugar mixture. Repeat until the glass is 3/4 full. Top with some whipped cream and finish it off with some more sprinkles of the sugar/spice mixture. Place the dessert in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

Cindy Vine is a South African currently living and working in Kyiv in Ukraine. She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective, C U @ 8, Not Telling and The Case of Billy B. All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format. http://cindyvine.com