Many of the cooks in India make a very simple puff paste.

80. Puff Paste

Make a dough out of a pound of flour and sufficient water. Knead for fifteen minutes. Roll in a damp cloth and set aside.

After an hour or so knead again. Then add a spoonful of shortening at a time until the dough begins to crack and looks rough.

Roll out in a sheet, cut in four pieces, place one upon the other, roll again, cut in four pieces again. Repeat this four times, then roll it into a sheet, spread it with shortening of some kind, cut in four pieces, and place one over the other. Then roll for the last time. The advantage of this method is that it takes comparatively little shortening and is always light and flaky. It makes a delicious pastry for cheese cakes.

A Fakir Of Bombay

81. Cheese Cakes

Place two cups of pure milk over the fire and when the milk begins to boil squeeze the juice of a lemon into it. The milk will at once curdle. Drain off the curds. To these curds add the yolks of two eggs, a tablespoonful of butter, a small cup of sugar, and a small cup of ground almonds. Walnuts, pecans, 'or any other nuts would do all right.

Mix all together smoothly. Line little patty pans with the paste (No. 80), and fill with the curds. Dust powdered sugar over the top and decorate with crossbars of pastry. Bake very slowly.

These cheese cakes are always much in evidence at afternoon teas, garden parties, and all social functions in India.

82. Banana Stew With Cocoanut

Boil six bananas. To boil bananas do not remove the skins. Just pour enough boiling water over them to cover them. Add a little salt to the water. As soon as the skins crack they are done. Remove and cool. When cool, take off the skins, scrape the bananas a little and split them.

Make a syrup of one cup of sugar and half a cup of fresh cocoanut and half a cup of water. Pour this over the boiled bananas and serve. This dish is much appreciated by the children.