2009 - CaribbeanPot.com

Rich and creamy Punch-de-Creme.

March 5, 2012December 28, 200932 Comments

Christmas for me growing up in the Caribbean was not as much about gifts and the shopping madness that seems to take over the spirit of the season in North America. It was more about food, family and fun times. The lovely aroma you’d get Christmas eve all the way past Boxing day as homes were engulfed with stews, curries, soups, baked meats and wonderful cakes and pastries being baked. Boxing day was pretty close to that childhood memory this year, as we were celebrating my mom’s birthday so there were lots of goodies being prepared.

As our guests arrived and made their way into the “action” I noticed that one of my cousins had brought me a bottle of Punch-de-Creme that my aunt (her mom) had made just in time for Christmas. Punch-de-Creme is one of those things you’d only get around Christmas time, and though this is not a “kid” drink… as kids we did sneak a sip or two whenever we got the chance.

Punch-de-Creme is basically a rich creamy drink that’s infused with strong rum for that added kick. It’s like the Caribbean version of Bailey’s. I didn’t get a chance to speak with my aunt for the specific recipe she uses, but after many drinks were shared that night… just about everyone had a recipe to share with me on making Punch-de-Creme. Add booze and people will instantly become experts at just about anything.

From all the “ole” talk, here one I think would produce a great final drink…

You’ll Need…

3 eggs
Peel of one lime
2 ½ c condensed milk
3 c evaporated milk
2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp ground clove
1 tbsp. vanilla essence
2 tsp Angostura bitters
1 cup rum. (use more for a real “kick”)

* Note: The traditional way to make this is with with strong “over proof” rum, but feel free to use the 40% proof rum that seems to be the norm in North America. I also noticed that some people preferred to use dark rum, while others liked using white rum. The choice is all yours… or what you may have available.

Note: Since I don’t like using eggs in it’s raw state, this recipe calls for gentle cooking of the eggs (almost custard like)

Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl, put in the lime peel and beat until fluffy. Now remove the lime peel, add the evaporated milk, and mix thoroughly. Pour into a the top pan of a double boiler and cook, stirring continuously until the mixture thickens and coat the back of a wooden spoon.. Remove from the heat, pour into a mixing bowl and add all the other ingredients except the rum and bitters. The final step… Ensure that the mixture is thoroughly cooled then add in the rum and bitters and mix. Bottle immediately. Serve chilled or on ice.

Store in the fridge!

Since as I mentioned this was gift I received from my aunt, I don’t have the normal step by step pics I usually post with every recipe. I do apologize for any inconvenience. The pic of the gingerbread house in the background was built by our middle daughter, Tehya. Added it to the background for the festive mood.

Happy Cooking

Chris…

A simple recipe for fry aloo (potato).

March 5, 2012December 21, 200918 Comments

One of the best things about growing up in a multi-racial country is the amount of different dishes you’re exposed to. Not just that we share in everyone’s culture (like around religious holidays etc) we also experiment with each others food. This resulted in dishes that are uniquely Trinbagonian as we’ve added our own touch (even KFC). Take fry aloo for instance. I’ve come across many “Indian” food blogs where the name of the dish is the same but the preparation and ingredients somewhat differs.

Even locally I seen recipes differ a bit, with people adding their own signature touch to enhance the final product. Personally I love me some fry aloo, but with left over corned beef (still have to post that recipe for you) added at the end.

This is the recipe for the traditional “Trini” way of making fry aloo and it just happens to be the way our daughters like it.

You’ll Need…
5 medium potatoes (I like using Yukon Gold)
1/2 onion sliced
3 cloves garlic (crushed)
dash black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
5-6 table spoons vegetable oil (olive oil works great – adds a nice flavour)
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper (or any pepper you like using) * Optional but really completes the dish)

Start by peeling the potatoes, then wash and slice (not too thick – cut down the center and then slice about 1/8 to 1/4 inch). Also peel and crush the garlic, slice the onion and pepper .. set aside.

In a heavy pot, add the oil and allow to heat on medium to high heat. As the oil heats up add the onion, garlic and pepper and allow to cook for a couple minutes. We’re trying to infuse the flavours into the oil before we add the sliced potato. As the onions start going brown, drain (if you had it sitting in water as I did) the sliced potato and start adding it to the pot.

This can be a very greasy dish, so if you can use oil that’s not full of saturated fats and cholesterol, it would be best. Also note that depending on the potato you use, you may be required to add a bit more oil as it cooks.

After you’ve added the potato, turn down the heat to medium-low and cover the pot. Allow this to cook for about 20 minutes and try to stir every 5 minutes or so. You will notice a couple things as it cooks.. It will start to stick to the bottom of the pot (that’s normal) and it will start going golden brown. When stirring, try to scrape off any bits that’s stuck to the bottom of the pot. If you find that it’s to the point where it’s burning, turn down the heat to low. As mentioned cook covered for 20 minutes.

After it’s been cooking for the 20 minutes, it will start to break apart and it will change in colour. The final step is to remove the lid and cook for another 5 minutes. Check to make sure the potato is fully cooked (should be soft) and double check for salt.

So simple, yet very tasty. The best way to enjoy this fry aloo is with Sada Roti or with any type of flat bread or if all fails.. everyday sliced bread.

I’m sure many of you have a different way of preparing this dish and I’d love to hear from you.

Happy Cooking

Chris…

Note: I mentioned that there’s the chance that you may need more oil. But I don’t think I mentioned how you can tell. If you find that midway through cooking it starts to stick to the bottom of the pot to the point where it’s burning and it’s overall dry.. add another tablespoon or two of oil.

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Trinidad Callaloo Recipe, The True Spirit Of The Islands.

April 12, 2021December 14, 200947 Comments

What would Sunday lunch (the biggest meal of the week on the islands) be without a healthy serving of Callaloo, rice, stew chicken, macaroni pie and slices of fried plantains? Not to be confused with Jamaican callaloo, callaloo is an actual dish and it’s not made from the bush/plant that our Jamaican friends call callaloo. The main ingredient in our callaloo dish is the tender baby leaves of the dasheen plant (also called dasheen bush) or in my case (couldn’t find dasheen leaves) I used tender baby spinach. Living in North America means there are times when we must find substitutes for traditional ingredients used in many of our dishes as it’s hard to source the ingredients normally used.

Though the recipe I’m about to share with you is not the traditional way of making callaloo, you’ll find that it’s very tasty, similar in texture and appearance to the real deal.

You’ll Need

2 cans (400 ml) coconut milk
Water (see below for amount)
6 cloves garlic
2 lbs Spinach (baby leaves work best)
1 lb ochro (okra)
1/2 onion sliced
2 crabs (split into 2 pieces each)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 sprigs of thyme
1 green habanero or scotch bonnet pepper (add any pepper you like)
1 teaspoon Goldenray butter (optional but makes a big difference)

Important: If doing this recipe gluten free please go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free diet.

Before we get to the actual steps in making the callaloo I must mention that if you can’t source (like me) tender dasheen leaves, it’s important that you not use ordinary spinach leaves, but do try to get baby spinach. Not only is it tender, but it’s not as strong in flavour as normal spinach. Regular spinach may over-power the dish and you won’t achieve that wonderful taste that a good callaloo will have. I must also mention that crab meat or imitation crab will not give it the true unique savoriness as would actual crab in the shell.

Start by placing a deep pot on a medium heat and pour the 2 cans of coconut milk into it, then using one of the cans, add 2 cans of water as well (so you have 4 cans of liquid in the pot). As it comes to a boil, wash the spinach leaves and start adding to the pot. If it’s fresh harvested spinach, you may have to rinse a few times as they can have a lot of dirt/sand between the leaves.

It will seem that all the spinach will not fit in the pot at the start, but as it wilts in the hot liquid you’ll have tons of room. The next step is to wash and trim the ochro (okra) by removing the stems and discarding. Then slice each one into 1 inch pieces (see pic below). Add the sliced onions, garlic, ochro and hot pepper. Leave the hot pepper whole at this point. You can also add the salt, thyme and blackpepper to the mixture.

Cover the pot, bring the heat down low to a gentle simmer and allow to cook for about 1 hour or until everything is tender and starts to melt together. Be sure to stir every 15 minutes or so and check to ensure that it’s not sticking at the bottom of the pot. This will be an indication that your heat is too high.

Now that it’s been cooking for 1 hr, it’s time to add the crab to the pot. I usually season it a bit first with some green seasoning and allow it to marinate for about 15 minutes before adding it to the pot with the callaloo. After you’ve added the seasoned crab (seasoning is optional) allow the callaloo to cook for another 15 minutes.

The final step is to break everything down. Luckily enough I have a swizzle stick (wooden one) that someone from the islands sent for me a few years back. If you don’t have one you can use either a whisk or one of those electric puree sticks. If you are using an electric one, I suggest you pulse a few times and not use a continuous action or it will make the callaloo very foamy and it can harm the finished product.

If you’re using a whisk, simply whisk until everything is broken down into a soup like consistency. Before you whisk you can remove the pepper (remember I mentioned to put it in whole) if you’re worried about the heat content.

The very final step is to add the GoldenRay butter, stir it around and turn off the heat. Enjoy!

Side Note:There are many variations of cooking this classic Trinbagonian dish, but I assure you this is a great start that you can customize as you get better at preparing it.

* From the recipe above you should have enough left over to freeze and enjoy at a later time. Just pour into a freezer style bowl and it usually last a couple months in the freezer. To thaw, all you have to do is empty the contents of the bowl into a pot with a couple tablespoons of water on very low heat and allow to melt. Or stick in the microwave.

Make room for Sada Roti, Pita Bread.

May 28, 2025December 7, 200955 Comments

My early years in Canada saw me falling in love with pita, as it was the closest thing to sada roti that I could get. Hamilton in those days had 1 or 2 Caribbean restaurants, but none of them served any type of roti. The same can be said today, except the two that I know that does have roti now, absolutely sucks! In many homes in Trinidad and Tobago Sada roti is consumed as cereal or toast and eggs would be in North America at breakfast time.

It’s a common misconception that Sada roti is difficult to make and people avoid trying. Today I’m here to prove that making roti is very simple and only takes about 30 minutes. You can even cheat and use a food processor to prepare the dough 🙂

You’ll Need..

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
dash of salt (optional)
1 1/2 cups water (see note below)

Note: This recipe is courtesy of my mom and she mentions that for some reason the flour we get in North America seems to need more water than the flour that’s available in the Caribbean when kneading. If you’re following the recipe and you’re based in the Caribbean, please take note to use a bit less water. I was also told that the cooked roti also remains much softer in the Caribbean than in North America.

In a fairly large bowl combine the flour and baking powder, then start adding the water as you knead the dough. Remember to dust your hand with some four to help prevent the dough from sticking to your fingers. The goal is to create a large smooth dough ball. I didn’t add any salt, but I’m sure some recipes will call for salt. That is entirely up to you. Keep dusting your hand with flour as you work the dough. If you’re using a food processor, simply add all the ingredients and combine. Tip add 3/4 the water to start and add more if necessary so you won’t end up with a soggy dough.

It may take about 5 minutes to knead the dough, after which cover the bowl and allow the dough to “soak” (rest) for about 15 minutes, as my mom would say.

The next step is to divide the dough ball into 3 smaller (but even) balls, as the big one would be too big for the roti we’re making. These would be perfect for the size of roti we have planned.

The traditional way to cook roti is by using a tawa (see pic below), but if you don’t have one, no worries. You can achieve the same result using a big non-stick frying pan. Heat the tawa or pan on medium to high heat. If this is the first time you’re making roti or working with dough, I’d recommend that you get the first roti ready first before heating the tawa. This way if you run into any problems rolling out the dough, the tawa will not over heat.

Dust a clean surface on your counter top (must be dry), get one of the smaller dough balls then flatten a bit and work the dough with your fingers (as I’m sure you’ve seen pizza makers do) . Continue dusting with four to avoid sticking and start rolling with a rolling pin. Flip over, dust with flour and roll again. We’re trying to get a well rounded (don’t worry about shape at this point.. you’ll perfect it soon enough) roti shape. The diameter will be between 10-12 inches and about 1/4 inch thick (or less)

Gently pick it up using both hands and place t to cook on the heated tawa or pan. Allow it to cook a couple minutes on each side, by flipping it as it cooks (you may need to use a spatula to help flip it as it will be hot). You’ll notice 3 things as it cooks.. it will increase in thickness, it will start getting a bit brown and it will start developing air pockets. This will lead you to the final step. Swelling the roti.

There are 2 ways to swell the roti which I’ll share with you below. The traditional way and the easy way 🙂

The traditional way I’ve seen my mom “swell” the roti, is by shifting the tawa away from the burner so half the tawa is directly over the flame, then in a circular motion move the roti over the direct flame. So half the roti will be on the tawa itself and half will be moved over the flame. You’ll notice that the roti will create a huge air pocket. This is what we mean when we say “swell” the roti. There’s a more traditional term used for this process, but I don’t recall what it is at the moment. If while using this method and you notice that only a part of the roti swells, press gently on the roti and the air pocket will move throughout the entire thing. Be very careful not to burst any holes, as steam will escape and you risk getting burned.

Note: If you do decide to use the traditional way to “swell” the roti do remember to use an oven mitt to prevent burning your hands and fingers.

The EASY and fool-proof way to swell the roti. After you’ve cooked it on both sides for a couple minutes and it starts to go brown… little air pockets or bubbles will start forming. Remove it off the tawa or frying pan and place it in your microwave (use a tea towel / paper towel or it will sweat on the direct surface), set the microwave on high and cook for about 30 seconds. You’ll be amazed at how fast and perfect it will swell.

Let’s go through the steps again..

Knead flour > allow to rest for 15 minutes > make into 3 smaller dough balls > flatten and cook on tawa for a couple minutes on each side > then swell > enjoy! I told you it was simple!

You’re probably wondering why the big deal about “swelling” the roti. This is so that it becomes lighter and makes a great pocket for stuffing. Using a sharp knife, cut the roti into 4 pieces as you would slice a pizza and stuff as you would a pita sandwich or enjoy slices with your favourite “talkarie”.

TIP: Wrap in a towel or paper towel to store after cooking. The idea is to keep it sealed from direct air or it will go hard and crusty. You can store in the fridge in a zipper bag (wrapped in paper towels) for a couple days and reheat in the microwave. I’ve never tried freezing this type of roti, though I’ve frozen other type with great success.

How to make coconut sweet bread.

March 5, 2012November 29, 2009168 Comments

My grandmother seems to posses the “sweet-hand” for making a killer coconut sweetbread and though I’ve never formally asked her to share it with me, I’ve been playing around with developing a recipe to try and match hers. However with her 94 years of experience, I doubt I’ll ever be able to come close to equaling hers. This morning I started off the day GRAND… with a large cup of tea and a couple slices of fresh-baked coconut sweet bread and it took me right back to my child hood.

You’ll Need…

4 1/2 cups flour
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup mixed fruit (cherry, orange peel etc)
1/2 cup sultana or raisins
3 cups coconut, grated (not dried or sweetened)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, grated
2 eggs, well-beaten
3/4 cup evaporated milk
2 teaspoons almond essence
1/2 lb butter (2 sticks) melted and cooled.

* If you don’t have the mixed fruit, use: 1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherry and 1/2 cup mixed peel.

In a large mixing bowl put the flour, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and baking powder… using a whisk, work a few times to incorporate the dry ingredients.

Then add the mixed fruit, grated coconut, raisins and sugar and whisk together. It will become a bit lumpy as the mixed fruit will be a bit wet.

The final step is to whisk the 2 eggs in a small bowl and add the milk as well as the melted butter and almond essence, then pour into the main bowl with everything else.

While we work the mixture preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Now using a cooking spoon or fork, work the batter until everything is incorporated into a batter (it will be almost cookie dough like) and not like a cake or bread batter. Don’t try to knead like you would normal bread. I really wish I had a pic to show you what the dough would look like, but my camera’s battery died and I couldn’t allow the dough to sit. It will be wet, heavy, sticky and very hard to work with the spoon.

Now all we need to do is grease your bread pans and pour in enough mixture about 3/4 the depth of the pan. You’ll need 2 pans. When your oven is ready place the 2 pans on the middle rack and allow to bake for about 60 minutes. At about 50 minutes I would recommend that you do a toothpick test by placing a toothpick in the middle of the bread and removing. If it’s clean when you remove it, the bread is cooked in the middle. If you find that the toothpick comes out with dough stuck to it, it means you’ll have to cook it a bit longer.

To add a nice touch, remove from the oven when done cooking all the way though. Then in a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon warm water and 1 tablespoon sugar to form a glaze. Using this glaze, brush the bread and then sprinkle the top with some sugar and place back in the oven from about 5 minutes.

Remove from the pans and allow to cool before cutting. When you cut the coconut bread you will notice that it will not cut clean and will crumble.. this is natural!

Tip 1: When the coconut sweetbread is cooled, I would recommend that you wrap with plastic wrap to seal it off from air or it will dry up and become very crumbly.

Tip 2. Since there’s fresh grated coconut this bread can go bad relatively fast. I would leave it on the counter for about 3 days and after that store in the fridge for a few days more. However, I’m sure you’ll find that this bread won’t last long as your family will devour it very fast.

* I was tempted to use the shredded coconut you can get in the baking section of the grocery store, but was advised against it. As I was told the end product would not be as good as using fresh grated coconut. However if you do use the store bought shredded coconut and use it for this recipe, I’d love to know about your end results. BTW, make sure you use the finest shred you can get if this is your only option. (maybe you can pre-soak the shreaded coconut in the milk if you don’t have access to fresh grated coconut.)

Happy Cooking.

Chris…

Cooking dhal, I bet you didn’t know it was this easy!

May 28, 2025November 21, 200958 Comments

Growing up in Trinidad, dhal meant salted meats like pig tails or beef and either curry chicken or tomato choka on the side with rice. My mom would put pieces of salted pig tails or beef into the dhal as it slow cooked that gave it a very unique taste. However, traditional split peas dhal is vegetarian and does not have sort of meat in it. These days when I do make dhal it’s more of a soup, as it’s very filling… with pieces of bread soaked into it. TIP: I usually make a big pot when I cook this and put a couple portions in the freezer for those nights when I feel like eating something hearty. All you do is pop it out of the freezer container and heat it in a pot on very low heat (covered). In less than 10 minutes you’ll have dhal that’s good as if it was fresh made.

Note: It seems that the recipe for dhal varies by person, region and country, as everyone has their own take on this.

You’ll Need…

2 cups Split Peas (yellow)
4 cloves garlic
salt to taste (about 3/4 teaspoon)
3/4 teaspoon Turmeric
7 cups of water
2-3 tablespoon oil
1/2 small onion sliced thin
1/4 hot pepper (optional) Habanero, scotch bonnet or whatever hot pepper you like
dash fresh ground black pepper

*TIP: Soak the dhal in water overnight or for a few hours before cooking to reduce the cooking time.

I not much of a prep person as I don’t usually plan my menu in advance, so it means my method take s a bit longer since I don’t pre-soak the split peas. I start by washing the split peas by pouring water into a bowl along with the split peas and massaging it a bt, between my fingers. I usually drain and rinse again. If you look at the pic below you’ll see all the grit like stuff that makes the water cloudy.

In the meantine bring the 7 cups of water to boil and prep the washed dhal for cooking. Drain the water you’ve rinsed the dhal with and put the hot pepper, slices of onions and 2 cloves of garlic (smash or pound it). As the water comes to a boil, pour in everything from the bowl and bring back to a boil. Then add the salt, black pepper and turmeric to the pot. Reduce to a very gentle simmer and place a lid on the pot (a bit ajar). Allow this to cook on very low for about 1.5 hrs or until the peas are tender and are melting away.

You may notice a bit of foamy stuff start to develop at the top of the pot (see image below) using your spoon, skim off and discard. Continue cooking on low.

After the peas are soft and start to melt or lose it’s shape, you now need to break them down to a thick soup like consistency. Using one of the following, whisk away.

After you’ve whisked the now cooked dhal, it’s time to “chunkay” (the process of adding heated oil infused with cooked garlic). In a small frying pan, put the oil and allow to heat, then add thin slices of the 2 remaining cloves of garlic. To get the true “chunkay” flavour, allow the garlic to go golden to dark brown. Then with caution, pour the infused oil on the cooked dhal (forgot to mention that you should have now turned off the heat under the cooked dhal) and stir to blend into the entire mixture.

Some tips…

1. When adding the heated oil to the pot with the dhal, stand a bit back to avoid any burns from splasing hot oil.

2. To cut back on cooking time, feel free to boil the dhal in a pressure cooker. It may take about 15 minutes or until the peas are tender and falling apart. Then chunkay as mentioned above.

3. If you started cooking on a large burner, feel free to move to a small burner where you can really get the heat low to allow the split peas to simmer and get tender without drying up all the liquid.

4. If you do like me and make a large batch to freeze. When you reheat, put a few tablespoons of water in the pot first to prevent it from going overly thick when it’s heat through.

Tonight we enjoyed the dhal with rice and curry stew chicken.

I encourage you to leave your comments and questions and do share you own way of making dhal with the community.

Happy Cooking!

Chris..

Another use for ochro besides Callaloo.

March 5, 2012November 9, 200935 Comments

The absolute only way I would engage in any dish with ochro (Okra) growing up, was callaloo and in some of the soups my mom would make on a Saturday. However that didn’t stop my mom from cooking fry ochro with and without saltfish (dry salted cod). We had a small garden (aka kitchen garden) at the back of our home and one of the vegetables we grew was ochro, so we always had a ready supply. However they were a bit different than the ones we get here in the supermarkets in Canada. Ours were a lighter green in colour (almost yellowish) and about 2 to 3 times longer, when ready to reap.

Fry ochro is yet another dish I only started to appreciate in adulthood, as many of the others I’ve mentioned in previous posts.

You’ll need…

1-2 lbs Ochro (okra)
Salt to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon)
6 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion sliced
2-3 cloves garlic (crushed – chopped)
1 pimento pepper 9sliced)

Note: I ended up using a pimento pepper in preparation only because I ran out of my usual habanero and/or scotch bonnet peppers. If you’re using a scotch bonnet pepper, you’ll only need a couple slices. BTW, the pepper is optional but it adds a nice flavour to the fry ochro.

Wash the ochroes and allow to air dry on paper towels or a kitchen towel. From advice from my mom, I allowed this to dry for about 2 hrs (there’s a reason why I did this, which I’ll explain below).

After which I trim the stems off the ochro and discard… then I slice each ochro about 1/4 to 1/2 a centimeter (about the thickness of 2 quarters). I then placed the slices on paper towel to air dry once more again. I recall my mom would allow the slices to air-dry on the counter top overnight. However, those were fresh-of-the-tree ochroes and not the store bought stuff that were probably harvested many days before that we get here. So I allowed it to air dry for a couple hours after they were sliced.

Why air dry 2 times?

It’s common knowledge that ochro is a bit slimy (mucilage) when sliced and can remain that way even when cooked. To avoid that sort of slimy texture the air drying process seems to remove most of the natural liquid in the ochro and prevents it from being overly slimy.

In a saucepan heat the olive oil (you can use vegetable oil, but since I’m using so much oil I thought it would be best to use a healthier oil) on medium to high heat. Then add the garlic, onion and slices of pepper. Allow this to cook for a few minutes, until it starts going brown. The next step is to add the sliced ochro and stir around. Then add the salt and allow to cook with the pan uncovered for about 20 minutes on medium/low heat.

It’s very important that you cook with the pan uncovered and that you stir very often. In about 20 minutes or so you’ll notice that the ochro starts to go brown (edges), this would be an indication that it cooked. I usually allow mine to go a bit dark (beyond golden) as I like the sort of nutty taste you get when the natural sugars starts to really caramelize. During the cooking process the ochro may start to stick to the bottom of the pot and you’ll notice that it absorbed all the oil you started off with. You can either turn down the heat or add a couple more tablespoons of oil. I usually turn down the heat a bit.

If you like to really make this uniquely Trinbagonian, add some pieces of salted cod to the oil before adding the onion, garlic and pepper that we started off with. If you do add some salted cod, you won’t need to add any additional salt to the dish.

Be sure to leave your comments below and I encourage you to share your ochro (okra) recipes with us.

Happy Cooking

Chris

The simplicity and splendor of fry plantains.

March 5, 2012November 2, 200941 Comments

Dad it’s getting black! Yup that’s what I heard the last 2 times I purchased plantains with the intention of sharing the simple recipe for fry plantains. I grew up eating fry plantains as a side to many dishes, but my absolute favourite was making sandwiches with these as the filler. I still recall my mom waiting just until the plantains would be so ripe they’d be very close to going black before she cook them. We were told that the more ripe (or quale) they went, the more sweet they would be. So this is exactly what I was trying to achieve, except with my rather busy schedule I tend to forget about them. Not until one of our girls point them out or when those pesky fruit flies appears, do I remember what I was trying to achieve.

For best results allow your ripe plantains to go a bit dark (it will look discoloured) before frying. In the pic below you’ll notice that the plantains I used were ripe, but were only just starting to go “quale” or discoloured.

You’ll Need..

1-2 ripe plantains
1-2 cups of vegetable oil for frying.
salt – optional
brown sugar – optional

Start by peeling the plantains. Do so by cutting off the ends and then cutting the plantain itself in the middle (as in the picture below).Discard the ends and get ready to peel off the skin and slice for frying.

Then using a small knife, cut through the skin along the length of the 2 pieces. Don’t go too deep as you only want to cut through the skin. Then peel back the skin and discard. Now cut thin strips (about 1/2 cm or little less than 1/4 inch) along the length of the piece of plantain.

The final step is to fry the pieces of sliced plantain. Heat the oil in a frying pan and gently place the pieces away from you to avoid hot oil splashing onto you. Allow to cook for about 5-7 minutes on each side (medium heat) or until it gets to the colour you like (use a fork to flip them over). The darker you allow it to go, it seems to also enhance the natural sugars in it. You’ll also notice that it floats when cooked through.

This is not a dish for the health conscious, since even though you pat dry on paper towels, the plantain tends to soak up a lot of the oil.

I usually sprinkle a little salt over mine and I know people who does the same with brown sugar… but you can enjoy these just the way they are when they cool a bit.

If you’ve ever purchased a rice dish at a Caribbean restaurant in North America you should have come across fried plantains served on the side. The Jamaican spot where I go for my jerk chicken with rice and peas, knows to give me a good potion of fry plantains with my takeout order.

Remember to leave me your comments below.

Happy Cooking.

Curry Channa (Chickpeas) With Aloo Recipe.

November 12, 2014October 26, 200954 Comments

Channa and aloo or “chickpeas with potato” cooked in curry and stuffed into “hops” bread was a fav of mine growing up. I would visit my uncle who was a teacher at Marabella Junior Secondary school and just outside the gates were vendors selling all sorts of local street food. Including channa and aloo sandwiches (they also had a range of hotsauces to top this off with). Then how could one forget Divali time when we would get invited to our friends place down the road for dinner. This usually meant curry channa and aloo with roti. It was a festive time and the table would be packed with a huge assortment of dishes, but all I ever wanted was the buss-up-shut roti and channa with aloo.

In my recipe I used canned channa, but if you have access to the dry peas and you have the time, give those a try as well. It just means you’ll have to boil the dry version until tender before adding to the curry potato. But you’ll avoid having to use processed peas which sits in a ton of salt and whatever else is used in canning process.

You’ll Need…

1 can chickpeas (also known as channa, garbanzo bean, Indian pea, ceci bean, bengal gram, Kabuli chana, konda kadalai, kadale kaalu, sanaga pappu, shimbra, Kadala)
2 tablespoon curry powder (madras)
1/4 teaspoon salt (add more to your taste)
dash black pepper
1/2 medium onion sliced thin
1/4 hot pepper (I use habanero or scotch bonnet)
3 cloves garlic – crushed and minced
3 leaves of shado beni (or 2 tablespoon cilantro)
2 medium potatoes cubed
2 tablespoons water for the curry paste
4 tablespoons water to add to the cooked curry
2 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil

You have 2 options when using the canned channa. You can rinse and cook or rinse, remove the skin and then cook. Since I hate the sort of gritty taste the skin gives the dish, I usually remove the skins from each channa grain. Yes, it does take about 15-20 minutes to remove them all, but the end result is much better in my opinion. Side note: If you were to purchase any dish that comes with curry channa (doubles to name one) the vendor would not have taken the time to remove the skins off the channa. So you know it tastes good even with the skin.. it’s just my personal choice.

After I’ve emptied the can of channa and rinsed it under running water, I start removing the outer skin. This is rather simple… take a channa between your fingers and apply a little pressure. The skin and channa will separate easily.

Now that we’ve removed all of the outer layer from the channa it’s time to slice and mince up the onion, pepper, garlic and shado beni to start cooking. Don’t forget to peel and dice the potato as well. In a fairly deep saucepan, heat the oil on medium to high heat and get ready to cook the curry a bit. Put the curry in a small bowl and pour in the 2 tablespoons of water, then stir to a thick paste. Pour this into the heated oil and allow to cook for a few minutes. As it dries down a bit, add the onion, garlic, pepper and shadow beni and stir around. To give this a bit of time to cook, add about 4 tablespoons of water. (you’ll cook the curry mixture for 4-8 minutes in total)

When the onion and garlic is soft and the liquid is all burnt off, add the potato and stir around to coat every piece with the curry mixture we just made. Immediately after add the channa and stir.

Pour in the 2 and 1/2 cups of water, add the salt and a dash of black pepper then bring to a boil and reduce to a gentle simmer (pot closed). Allow this to cook for about 20 minutes or until the potato is tender. By now the water would have dried up and a thick sauce should have started to form. I like this dish with a bit of a thick gravy or sauce so using the back of my cooking spoon I press down on the potato and some of the channa. Then stir around so any runny liquid will get nice and thick. If you notice that after the 20 minutes cooking time you have little or no liquid in the pot, feel free to add some more and bring it to a boil. Same trick applies.. push down using the back of your spoon to help thicken the sauce.

Sometimes you wonder why it’s taken you this long to make something you usually purchase, when it’s so simple to make. leave me your thoughts below.

Happy Cooking

Chris…

p.s. hops bread is a a local bun the size of a hamburger bun in Canada and the US. It’s the main bun used for making sandwiches and you can get a fresh made batch at any of the local bakeries.

Spreading the culinary culture of the Caribbean.

May 28, 2025October 25, 20093 Comments

Very rare will you find a post on here that’s not a recipe, but after speaking with Chris from Food & Drink Caribbean I felt compelled to share the amazing work they’re doing promoting the cuisine of islands such at Antigua, St Kitts & Nevis and Dominica. I always tell people that if when I move back to the Caribbean and if I didn’t end up in my country of birth Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua would be my next choice. We been fortunate enough to have visited a number of the Caribbean islands while cruising and Antigua is etched in my mind as a true island paradise. The people, natural beauty and lifestyle are all amazing. BTW, you must visit Darkwood beach… I don’t want to say much more to have it over-run by tourists 🙂 (like me)

Rather than go on about the long conversation Chis and I had about what Caribbean Food and Drink is all about and what his partners (and friends) main goals are behind the website and magazine, here’s a teaser video they have for their upcoming DVD release:

A Taste of Antigua from Food&Drink Caribbean on Vimeo.

If you live, visit or plan on visiting Antigua, St Kitts and Nevis and /or Dominica (Not Dominican Republic) be sure to pick up a copy of the restaurant guide the people at Caribbean Food and Drink publish on a yearly basis. I believe it’s free on the islands and if you’re a foodie like me, you’ll get an insight into the respective island’s dining options. BTW, maybe I can convince one of you guys to grab me a copy while you’re down there?

Couple pics from our visit to Antigua (first one is Darkwood beach and the 2nd is from the top of Shirley Heights)

Please take a moment to check out the Caribbean Food and Drink website and mention that Chris from CaribbeanPot.com sent you.

Fry cabbage with leftover stew pork.

May 27, 2025October 22, 200917 Comments

Looking back at the difficult time we (brother and sisters) gave my mom due to the food she would prepare for us, I was overcome with a terrible sense of guilt. There were times we would refuse to eat even though she was making the most of what’s available, as well as trying to make stuff for us that were healthy. Full circle? We go through the same thing with our daughters, but we have influences like McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King and the other fast food joints all over this city that my mom didn’t have to compete with.

Cabbage was of those things which I would refuse to eat when I was younger (there are a few I’ve already mentioned on this blog), unless it was in chow mein. But I find myself drawn to it the past few years. Here’s a dish that was passed down to me by my grandmother who recently celebrated her 94th birthday. Instead of using pork, she would use left over stew chicken or salted cod to flavour it, since I don’t think she’s ever had pork in her life.

You’ll Need…

1/2 of a medium cabbage shredded
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 medium onion sliced
2 cloves garlic sliced thin
1/4 habanero pepper sliced thin (pepper is optional, but adds a great flavour – feel free to use any hot pepper you like)
leftover stew pork
2 tablespoons olive oil

Note: if you don’t eat pork , you can always use leftover stew beef or chicken and salted cod is also a very tasty alternative. You can also check out the recipe I posted before for cabbage with corned beef. If you’d like to have the recipe with the salted cod, leave me a comment and I’ll post it for you. Vegetarians, you can leave out meat completely from this dish and it’s still excellent.

Start by slicing the onion, garlic and hot peppers very thin. Then in a large saucepan, heat the oil and add the onion, garlic and pepper. Allow this cook for a few minutes while you prepare the cabbage.

Allow the onions etc to cook for about 5 minutes on medium to low heat. The idea is to soften it to release it’s sugars and flavours. The next step is to add the shredded cabbage (I think it was about 5 cups or so) and stir gently. The pot will seem crowded and stirring will be a bit difficult, but it will reduce as it cooks. DON’T cover the pot or risk having a lot of liquid forming and making the dish soggy.

Allow this to cook for about 15-20 minutes (medium to low heat) or until the cabbage is cooked though to the texture you like. Then add in the pieces of stew pork (chicken or beef) and stir. Allow this to cook for another 3-5 minutes or until the pork is heated through if you had it in the fridge.

You won’t believe how tasty this cabbage dish is until you’ve tried it. I was fortunate to have some roti to eat this with, but it’s just as good with rice, ground provision, in a sandwich or as an everyday side dish.

TIP! Since I’ve confessed before that I can’t make roti, when my mom is in town we get her to make up a batch for us (buss up shut) and I freeze them in individual portions in zip lock freezer bags. Now don’t get me wrong, nothing beats fresh made roti, but when you reheat these it’s very close to the fresh stuff. So the next time you have someone over who can make roti, have them make you a batch and freeze them for times like this or go to your local Caribbean restaurant and get a batch to freeze. The only other tip I can give you is when heating in the microwave, don’t set the time for too long. Give it a 45 second blast, allow it to stop.. then hit it again for another 45 seconds. For some reason it it goes continuous, it ends up being a bit soggy. If you’re heating sada roti, I would recommend that you wrap it in paper towels or a tea cloth when reheating to avoid it going sorry.

Did you know that you can also freeze and reheat doubles? YUP! The closest joint that sells doubles in 1 hr away in Toronto. So when we drive down to visit my sister or go shopping we usually get several batches that we freeze.

FINAL TIP! When putting the roti or doubles into freezer bags to freeze, try your best to squeeze out any excess air from the bag as you seal it. If you have one of those “seal a meal” gadgets, take full advantage of it.

Leave me your comments below and…

Happy Cooking!

Finger licking BBQ chicken recipe.

May 27, 2025October 21, 200929 Comments

Couple weeks back when we were on vacation in Trinidad we took the drive “down south” (San Fernando, the second largest city in Trinidad and Tobago) to enjoy some BBQ. Last February when we went down for Carnival I had mentioned to my sister that I felt like eating some good island BBQ so she took us down to Cipero in San Fernando to eat at a BBQ joint run by some Muslims. I’ve now been there 2 times and I’m still to remember the name… the food is so good you tend to blank everything else out!

This BBQ recipe for chicken is not like the one we enjoyed while we were there, however it’s very tasty as it’s infused with many of the typical seasonings we use when cooking meat on the islands. BTW, if you know the BBQ joint I’m speaking about, do leave me a comment below so I can tell others the name.

* You have 2 options when making this BBQ chicken. You can precook it as I’ve done, or you can let it marinate for a couple hours (be sure to make some cuts in the thickest part of the chicken) and grill directly on a medium heat grill. I would even recommend that you grill it a bit on indirect heat to avoid flare-ups. Remember if you don’t precook the chicken it will take much longer to cook on the grill.

Note: If you’re feeding the average Trinbagonian BBQ chicken (any BBQ meat) it’s important to note that we don’t want to see any “red” or “pink”. It’s an immediate turn-off and we probably won’t eat it. However over the years I’ve learned to appreciate a medium done steak.. still trying to convince my dad that it’s good tasting like that.

You’ll Need…

7 chicken legs with back attached. (or about 3-5 lbs chicken pieces)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon thyme
1 scallion chopped
2-3 tablespoon shado beni (or chopped cilantro)
1-2 leaves of Spanish thyme minced
1/2 teaspoon pepper flakes (or fresh sliced scotch bonnet/habanero pepper)
dash of black pepper
1 table spoon ketchup
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 pimento pepper
1 medium onion rough chopped
1 tomato diced
2 cloves galic.
1 lime

* You’ll need about 1 cup of your favourite BBQ sauce.

Note: I didn’t have the items in “bold” above, so I used a tablespoon of the prepared green seasoning paste I have handy in my fridge. it’s made up of basically the same thing.

Start by trimming off any excess fat or skin from the chicken and wash with the juice of the lime (or lemon) and water (drain). Then place in a fairly large pot and toss in all the ingredients mentioned above. On medium to low heat, cover and allow to simmer (gentle) for about 30 minutes. Please ensure it’s a very low simmer as we don’t want to over-boil the chicken pieces. Stir every 10 minutes or so.

You will notice that there will be a lot of liquid formed during simmering. Remove the chicken pieces (dump out the remainign liquid from the pot) and get the grill ready for the final step (the chicken will not look all at that appealing at this point). Try to get the BBQ at about 300 degrees and start grilling the chicken. Since the chicken is already cooked, this point is just to get the meat firm, add some colour and flavour from the BBQ sauce.

In the pic above you’ll notice that I have the pan with my BBQ sauce and brush sitting on the BBQ. This allows the sauce to heat up so I don’t brush cold sauce onto the chicken pieces. Within 10-15 minutes your chicken will be ready. Just remember to flip a few times and brush with BBQ sauce to give it all that wonderful sticky BBQ goodness.

Back to that BBQ joint on Cipero Street in San Fernando… I would recommend that you stick with the chicken (comes with fries and salad) as I’ve found that the beef and lamb is very tough. And do be careful with the hot sauce that’s provided. If you can’t tolerate much heat, don’t try to follow the locals and pour in a ton of hot sauce. You’re just asking for pain then 🙂 And do try the sort of garlic mayo they have as well.

Happy Cooking

Chris…