taste bitter, that they will break up too much in the final drying process or that the 

 leaves will start to decay when left overnight and spoil the taste of the product. 

 Incidentally this drying reduces the bulk of the leaves considerably and so allows 

 more to be packed into the pot. 



After two to three hours in the sun, the leaves are put back in the baskets and 

 left outside the hut on the verandah until the morning. They are then packed 

 very tightly into a large earthenware pot (4 gallon) and a little cold water (1-2 

 pints) added. After about 20-30 minutes on a wood fire, the water boils but the 

 temperature of the leaves, except at the bottom is still low. When the mass is 

 steaming vigorously it is turned over with a stick and after about 40-50 minutes from 

 the start {i.e., 10-20 minutes steaming), the pot is removed from the fire by which 

 time there is very little water left. The leaves are now soft and slightly yellow in 

 colour. They are spread on a mat in the sun to dry for the rest of the day and if 

 necessary for a further one or two days. 



The leaves when freshly dried are very crisp and good to eat, hence the women 

 often take the mats into the bush to dry the mfutso for fear passers-by in the village 

 should take too heavy a toll. After three or four batches of leaves have been dried, 

 there is enough to make up into balls, cikwatu, the size of a football. These are 

 covered with the leaves of masuku, {Uapaca kirkiana), sewn together or bound with 

 string and hung up in the hut until required. One ball weighs from 3-5 lb. in weight. 



Other leaves that are commonly used for mfutso are : — 



(a) Pumpkin leaves, these are not always given a preliminary drying and 



after boiling take longer to dry than cowpea leaves. 



(6) Haricot bean leaves, these are dried in the same way as those of cowpea. 

 (c) At least three kinds of wild leaves are dried, e.g., Bidens pilosa, (kanzota,) 



a Hibiscus, (limanda) and a Crotalaria, (zumba). These are usually dried without 



a prel minary boiling. 



{d) Sweet potato leaves are dried without steaming; they are not very 



popular except with old women. 



Mfutso has a commercial value and balls were sold in 1938 for 6d to Is depending 

 on their size. 



Leaves are dried in large amounts by women living where there is a long dry 

 season particularly by aNgoni and aCewa women living in the Central Province 

 and in the Mzimba District of the Northern Province. Women in the Southern 

 Province seldom make mfutso. 



The Cooking of Dried Leaves, mfutso. 



The dried leaves are put in cold water and boiled for about an hour. Then 

 tomatoes, groundnuts and salt are added as with fresh leaves. The cooked dish is 

 well liked. 



The flavour of mfutso is much improved if some tomatoes are dried together 

 with the leaves. They are split open or cut across, mixed well with the leaves 

 and dried with them. 



Cowpea leaves are the most commonly dried of all the leaves. 

 Ref. 13; 23; 27. 



474. Viola abyssinica Steud. (Violac). 

 Katongolola (N). 



A herb with slender prostrate flowering stems, rooting at intervals; leaves 

 heart-shaped, petals forming a sac. Found at high elevations. 



The leaves are occasionally used as a side-dish (Kota Kota Hills). 



475. Vitex doniana Sweet (Verben.) (Syn. V. cuneata Thonn.). 

 Mpindimbi, mpyumhya (N), msimpsya (C), mbindimbi (Tu, fruits). 



126 



