Tasty vegetarian recipes with a Caribbean influence by Caribbean cookbook author Chris De La Rosa.
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For those of you not familiar with the Trinbagonian accent… “pong” simply refers to “pound”. So basically we’ll be pounding or mashing the yam in cooked salted cod and other ingredients to bring out the true essence of this wonderful “country” dish. This dish may have different names such as “yam choka” or “yam talkari”,…
I recall my mom making something similar as a young fella and being warned that I/we should not touch it due to the high pepper content. Like everything your parents didn’t want you to do.. you did. The overwhelming heat was simply unbearable as a youth and I did learn my lesson, however that was…
Talkari or talcarie is a term used to describe a curry or side dish on the islands, and is East Indian in origin. Mango talkari (my mouth still waters as I recall my school boy days) or Mango Amchar was sold by vendors just outside the gates of my primary and secondary school. At breaks…
I still recall coming back from playing football (soccer) or cricket on a Sunday morning and the house would be filled with the wonderful aroma of Sunday lunch being prepared. Though I was never a fan of it, macaroni pie is an integral part of a Trinbagonian Sunday lunch. For me the rice, stew chicken…
It’s funny how things always seem to get in the way to prevent you from doing things you plan. A few days back when I posted the recipe for mango chutney, I had planned on making a batch of pholourie to accompany the chutney. Afterall they’re like peas in a pod… they go together. Looking…
I’ve been having a serious craving lately for some hot-from-the fryer-pholourie, the kind that you get when you’re invited to Divali celebrations at your friend’s home (the multiculturalism on the islands is amazing). How I miss those days! There I was strolling through the grocery this morning when I saw some green mangoes (not the…
Here’s another one of the dishes my mom would prepare when we were kids which we refused to eat. Her way of getting us to eat it was to cook it without the curry and add leftover stew chicken, pork or beef near the end of the cooking process. Today when she visits I get…
I’m sure you’ve seen those tiny little bananas in the supermarket… normally called “baby bananas”. But have you ever given much thought as to what people do with these cute little bananas that look like they forgot to grow up? They’re quite tasty when fully ripe and can be enjoyed just as you would a…
Looking back at my childhood it puzzles me as to what was our facination with imported fruits like apples, pears and grapes? It’s funny how when you move away from home you crave the things you took for granted. Like off-the-tree mangoes and oranges. Mangoes with such names as Julie, long, hog, dou dous (sp),…
Though close to the real deal, this recipe is NOT how traditional saltfish buljol is made. My dad would tell us that his grandparents buljol was very simple.. shredded saltfish topped with hot oil. Sliced onions, hot peppers and tomato if you were lucky enough to have those things. In the Caribbean saltfish is “king”….
Last week while briefly helping my sister in the kitchen at the King and Queen of Caribana event, I saw how easy it was for my mom to make up batches of fry bake to stuff with saltfish and/or shark. She made it seem so effortless I was convinced that I could easily master this….
A few years ago Caron’s aunt and grandmother had stopped by for a visit as I was getting ready to put an eggplant on the BBQ to get it roasted for one of my favourite childhood dishes, baigan choka. When I explained what I was about to do, they mentioned that they had something similar…
