In Memory Of Karen Nicole Smith, 1972 - 2016

Chorai Bhaji With Salted Pigtails In Coconut Milk.


jamaican callaloo recipe

Though it’s been a very hot and humid summer, the little kitchen garden we have at the back of our home is in full production. Must be all the watering I’ve been doing  and the special relationship I have with my plants 🙂  If you’ve been part of our discussion group on facebook (see Caribbean Pot On Facebook) you would have seen the pics I shared when these chorai (Jamaican Callaloo) bhaji were just a week old and how small they were. Well, the plants are now over 5 feet tall and that’s after I’ve already cut them back a couple times. No-joke, the leaves are almost as big as tobacco leaves. I’m sure I’ll be able to reap a couple more times before the season ends. If you’re looking for a vegetarian version of this recipe or you just don’t want to deal with the swine, check out : Chorai Bhaji Recipe.

You’ll Need…

1 bunch of Chorai bhaji (about 2 lbs) (same as Jamaican callaloo)
1 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 medium onion sliced
1/4 hot pepper (whatever you like using.. I used habanero) * remember to avoid using the seeds if you want to avoid most of the heat.
salt  – see notes below since we’re using salted pigtail.
1 lb salted pig tails cut into 2 inch pieces
1 cup coconut milk

* Click here for a  >>> Trinbago Callaloo Recipe

chorai bhaji It’s recommended that you try to get your butcher to cut your pigtails for you, as it can do some serious damage to your knives if you try this at home. The middle bone can be very tough, so I opted to use my heavy Chinese clever that I have. Then I rinse and place in a pot with enough water to cover  by at least 3 inches. Place the pot on a high flame and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for about 40 minutes. This will do two things. It will help it get tender since the cooking time of the bhaji will not be long enough to fully tenderize this. And it will help remove most of the salt the pig tails were cured in.

If your chorai is not already trimmed, remove all the leaves from the thick stalk (discard thick stalk), but if thin ones are tender, you can include some as they will cook-down nicely. Then full your sink or  alarge bowl with water and give this a good wash. Rinse again under running water, since you really want to remove any dirt or sand from between the leaves. Then drain and make little bundles (roll) and give a rough chop. The rough chop is optional if your leaves are small, since some people like seeing the fully cooked leaves.

salted pigtail

trini salted pig tail recipe

jamaican callaloo

washing chorai bhaji

callaloo

healthy caribbean food

recipes from trinidad

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Slice the pepper, onion and garlic and get ready for cooking after the pig tail have cooked for the 40 minutes or so. In a large pot, heat the oil and cook half of the onions under medium heat for about 3 minutes. You can now starting adding the chopped chorai to the pot. It will look like a lot, but it will wilt and cook down. Top with the remaining onion, garlic and hot pepper when there’s room in the pot. Drain the cooked salted pigtail pieces and add to the pot as well. Feel free to add the coconut milk so everything can cook in this rich milky goodness.

trini recipe

cooking trini food

cooking spinach

caribbean spinach recipe

caribbean recipes

Stir well, cover and cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes. It will spring up a lot of it’s own juices, so after 15 minutes of cooking turn up the heat and cook-off all the remaining liquid. Watch it closely and stir to avoid sticking and burning. Should take about 5 minutes on high heat to cook down the liquid. Taste for salt, since we didn’t add any as it’s hard to determine if the remaining salt in the pigtail would be enough for the dish. I had to add a slight dusting of salt to mine.

cooking bhaji in coconut

trinidad bhaji recipe

cooked callaloo

Like all the recipes on here, it’s very simple to make and if you’re not turned off by the salted pigtails… it’s very tasty! Be sure to leave your comments below (always appreciated) and connect with via our Face Book fan page (click on image below). BTW, if you looking for other bhaji recipes, you can also check out: Pak Choi | Baby Spinach | Swiss Chard

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10 Comments

  1. Erroll
    May 5, 2019 / 5:39 pm

    Hi Chris. Greetings. A lot of bhagi is growing in Suriname. We have also a variety with very small leaves and red stems.40% of our populatian are Indians. In Suriname we eat bhagi mostly with salted meat or smoked fish. But I,m gonna try your recipe. Thanks a lot. I enjoy your recipes. And I’m happy Suriname is a member of CARICOM. Take care.

  2. February 10, 2019 / 2:51 pm

    I will have to buy spinach, since I do not or ever seen callaloo here.

  3. Linda Ferguson
    March 25, 2014 / 4:05 pm

    Hi Chris , this recipe looks really good I want to try it but, there is one thing I will have to find out where I can get bhagi. I live outside Toronto and West Indian stores are hard to find. Tell me Vhris is there anything that I can substitute , I know it won’t be the same but just incase , i really want to try this. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.
    Thanks Chris.

  4. Tatiana
    December 26, 2013 / 4:07 pm

    Hi Chris I peel the stalks of the Chorai bhaji and cook it as well of course only the soft peaces not the hard once. Just put your nife were the leave use to be and pull down. And then you try from the top and buttom I think that all the vitamins are there.

    Magical Holidays for you and you’re fam.

  5. gowra Loknath
    September 28, 2013 / 3:33 pm

    Hi Chris,
    You know us in Trinidad.
    Minus the pigtail, Chowrai bhaji goes well with daal and rice

  6. Sommer
    December 28, 2010 / 4:15 pm

    So I tried this recipe, forgot to get coconut milk. I did have coconut cream though; but I was a bit heavy-handed. It had a slight sweet taste to it, but there was none left. We had ours with Jasmine rice. It was so very good. Thanks Chris, I could not have done it without you.

  7. Charmaine
    December 14, 2010 / 1:02 pm

    I had forgotten how good this was. My dad used to make this for us. Brought back some memories
    Good job..

  8. sasha edwards
    November 15, 2010 / 2:33 pm

    i tried it, i had mines with dumplings, it was great…… the only thing was that my bhagi was a little bit bitter

    • Faye
      October 21, 2013 / 11:36 am

      Hey Sasha – try soaking bhagi in salt water (about 1/2 hour) before cooking to take away the bitterness

  9. October 10, 2010 / 7:58 pm

    Gosh this looks good Chris

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