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After getting a request for a new “Mother-In-Law” recipe via a YouTube comment , the spicy condiment we use on the side of many curry dishes in Trinidad and Tobago, I decided to do things a little different and do my interpretation of a Canadian version. I believe the name comes from the ‘spicy’ nature of one’s mother in law, mixed with different textures and flavors (complexity). Do keep in mind that you can control the amount of heat of this condiment by the number and type of hot peppers you use.

You’ll Need…

2 limes (juice)
1 lemon (juice)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 medium red onion
2 scallions
1 pear
2 nectarines
2 sticks celery
1 tablespoon cilantro (chopped)
2 cloves garlic
4 HOT peppers
1 green apple (granny smith)
1 red apple (your choice)

Note! Feel free to use as much spicy hot peppers as you like.. do keep in mind that this is a SPICY condiment! I used a combination of Habanero, Scotch Bonnet and another pepper (don’t recall the name at the moment) from my garden. Here’s the original Caribbean version of Mother In Law I shared a while back.

The goal here is to dice everything the same size (except the garlic and peppers which I like very fine), so it’s uniform in texture when it’s served. I diced everything, but you can certainly use a food processor or grater if you like.

Make sure you wash the fruits etc very good, since we’ll be using the skin for additional color (presentation) and texture. Remember to wear gloves when handling the hot peppers and be sure to wash your hands immediately after with soap and water. Additionally, don’t include the seeds and white membrane around the seeds if you’re concerned about the raw heat.

I usually squeeze the lime and lemon juice in the bowl I’ll be mixing everything in, so as I dice and place it there, it will help prevent discoloration of the fruits.

Basically all you have to do is dice (grate or food processor) everything and combine together. I used a bit of celery and green apple to give it a bit more texture and slight tartness. Usually green mangoes are used to achieve this. You may also grate in a carrot and the addition of a cucumber is always refreshing.

Taste for salt after you’ve mixed it all and adjust.

If you find that you don’t have enough liquid from the juices to coat/cover everything, add a bit more lemon juice or vinegar. You may store this in a glass container (sealed) in the fridge for up to 5 days or so. Please allow this to marinate for about 2 hours before serving for best results. This time will be used to bring all those spicy (and sweet) flavors together.

Are you married? How spicy is your mother in law? Did you know there’s also a Daughter-in-Law? More to come.

Do you own a copy of my cookbook ?- The Vibrant Caribbean Pot 100 Traditional And Fusion recipes Vol 2

Gluten Free Vegetarian

Tasty Vegetarian 3 Spinach Rice

April 22, 2017April 22, 2017Leave a Comment

Looking back I think I originally documented this recipe late summer / early fall last year.. when my garden was loaded with the ‘spinach’ I’m about to use in this recipe. I’m using the word ‘spinach’ a bit loosely, as I’m really referring to several types of greens when I do. I’m a HUGE fan of greens so I usually plant several varieties in my garden every year. I’m told that as a kid on the islands my favorites (bhagi aka greens) were Dasheen Bush (tender leaves of the dasheen plant), Pak Choi and Chorai (Jamaican Callalloo)… mom never had a problem with me eating when she would cook those dishes.

You’ll Need…

2-3 cups chopped Jamaican Callaloo
2-3 cups chopped Kale
2-3 cups chopped Swiss Chard
1 teaspoon salt (adjust)
1/2 med onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 sprigs thyme
2 scallions
1/4 teaspoon allspice
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 scotch bonnet pepper
2 cups parboiled brown rice

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 dietary needs.

Wash, drain and trim the different greens (I cut into 1 cm ribbons) and set aside. Don’t use the tough stems of the Jamaican Callaloo (Chorai) and Kale.

In a wide pot/pan heat the olive oil on a med/low flame, then go in with the diced onion, chopped scallions, smashed garlic, black pepper, allspice and thyme. Cook for about 1-2 minutes.

Start adding all the chopped greens to the pot and stir and add the salt.

It’s now time to add the washed rice (place the rice in a bowl, cover with water and move the grains between your fingers.. the water will go cloudy. drain and repeat until the water is clear. or you can place the rice in a strainer and run cool water over it.. massage until the water runs clear) and mix with everything else in the pot.

It’s now time to crank up the heat to high and go in with the coconut milk and water.

As it comes to a boil, place the whole scotch bonnet on top (don’t break – we want the flavors of the oils on the skin and NOT the raw heat). Stir well, cover the pot and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.

It took about 22-25 minutes to cook. Turn off the heat, lid still on and allow it to continue cool/cooking with the residual heat. After about 15 minutes, you can now go in with a fork and fluff the rice. Do remember to remove the scotch bonnet pepper before you fluff the rice to ensure you don’t mistakenly break it. Once broken it will release that Caribbean Sunshine (heat).

An amazing one pot vegetarian rice dish (probably vegan too?) packed with flavors of the islands. Do keep an eye on the level of liquid as it cooks (add more boiling water if necessary) and remember to taste it for salt near the end and adjust accordingly. You can always add vegetable stock instead of water, but be mindful of the sodium level. or go in with chicken stock if not making this vegetarian.

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Gluten Free Seafood

Yam With Stewed Saltfish.

October 11, 2016October 11, 20161 Comment

This is one fella you can take out of the Caribbean, but you can never take the “Caribbean” out of him. I’ve had the opportunity to dine in various countries / restaurants around the world and while many of the dishes I’ve experienced we’re definitely tasty, I will always head back ‘home’ to the islands when I need something comforting. Such is the case when I eat dishes containing yam, dasheen, green banana, eddoes, cassava and other ingredients we refer to as being ‘provision’. I’ll always remember weekends when mom would prepare this dish for me, my brother and dad.. my sisters we’re somewhat picky eaters.

You’ll Need…

1 Yam 3-4 lbs (white yam)
1 cup salted cod (prepared)
1/2 onion (sliced)
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic (diced)
2 tablespoon olive oil
4 sprigs thyme
10 cherry tomatoes (or 1 large – sliced)
1 scotch bonnet pepper (optional.. no seeds)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 scallion (chopped)

Note: I’ve posted this recipe under Gluten Free (as well), so kindly go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific Gluten Free dietary needs.

Demo: How To prepare Salted Cod (Saltfish)

Prepare the salted cod (soak, boil, drain, rinse and shred) and set aside.

Peel the yam (please get actual yams and NOT sweet potatoes some people refer to as being yams). Try West Indian, Asian and Latin markets.. ask for soft boiling white yam. The variety I used was from Africa, which cooks very fast. Then cut into large pieces, cover with water and bring to a boil. Add about 1/2 teaspoon salt to the water when it comes to a boil. Cook on a rolling boil until the yam is tender, but not falling apart. It can take between 20-30 minutes depending on how large the pieces are and the variety of yam you get. TIP! Some yams may cause skin irritation when peeling, so I’d suggest wearing gloves or coating your hands with some vegetable oil when peeling/handling.

As the yam boils, prepare the other ingredients.

Poke the yam pieces with a pairing knife… if there’s no resistance, they’re fully cooked. Drain and set aside.

Heat the olive oil on a medium flame in a wide pan, then ad the shredded salted cod to the pan. Lower the heat to low and cook gently for 3-5 minutes. Then add the onion and garlic and cook (on low) for another 2-3 minutes. Then turn up the heat to medium and add all the other ingredients and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Toss in the cooked yam pieces and mix well, to coat with the stewed salted fish.

You have a couple options here. You can mix well, heat though and you’re done. Or you can cook a bit longer and allow the yam pieces to develop a sort of crust (my fave). You’ll notice that I didn’t add any salt to the dish as the yam was cooked in salted water and the remaining salt from the salted fish will be enough – but you can adjust to your own liking. Add as much Caribbean Sunshine (Scotch Bonnet) as you can handle and do remember to wash your hands with soap and water immediately after handling such hot peppers.

This is definitely COMFORT on a plate for me. If you can’t source Yams, you can use Taro/Dasheen, cassava, green cooking bananas, eddoes, sweet potatoes or even regular potatoes would work.

Gluten Free Seafood

Curry Shrimp With Pumpkin.

March 11, 2017August 11, 20163 Comments

Pumpkin and shrimp are two things mom struggled to get us to eat as kids, but as an adult I can’t get enough. Looking back I wish I had started eating pumpkin from a younger age as the pumpkins mom would use came directly from the small garden we had at the back of our home in rural Trinidad. Grown organically and under the brilliant Caribbean sun… I still recall mom commenting “gosh this pumpkin cook real gud” every time she made a pumpkin dish.

You’ll Need…

3 lbs pumpkin (butternut squash will work also)
1/2 lb shrimp (med, cleaned and deveined)
1 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoon water
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper (no seeds)

Edit! : Forgot to add the curry powder in the list. 1 Heaping Tablespoon Curry Powder (more to your liking)

Important: If doing this recipe gluten free please go through the entire list of ingredients to ensure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Especially the curry powder you use, which can have flour as a filler at times.

Peel, devein and wash the shrimp. Then season with the Caribbean Green Seasoning, salt and black pepper. Allow the seasoned shrimp to marinate for 10 minutes as you peel and cube the pumpkin.

In a deep saucepan, heat the oil on a low flame and add the diced (or crushed) garlic, then go in with the curry powder (I used a Madras blend out of the Caribbean) and stir well. Cook on VERY low for 3-5 minutes. It will go darker and grainy.. this step will cook off the ‘raw’ curry taste and bloom the spices which makes up a good curry blend. Add the scotch bonnet pepper and stir well at this point as well.

Toss in the seasoned shrimp, turn up the heat to med/high and cook for about 1-2 minutes. Coat with the curry base. then remove the shrimp and set aside. We’ll finishing cooking them later. In the same bowl you seasoned the shrimp add a couple table spoons of water and stir, then add to the pot. This will deglave the pan and allow the pumpkin to coat with the curry easier.

It’s now time to add the cubed pumpkin to the pot and stir well to coat with the curry that’s still in the pot.

Place the lid on the pan and bring to a boil. The pumpkin will naturally sprout it’s own natural juices. Once it starts boiling, add the brown sugar, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 25 minutes – stir every 5 minutes or so. (lid on)

If you wanted you could add any of your fav herbs and some diced onion to the pot for additional flavor. Remove the lid and using the back of your spoon.. crush the pumpkin so it becomes more smooth. Yes, it should be soft at this point. It’s now time to burn off the extra liquid, so crank up the heat and cook for a few minutes.

As most of the liquid burns off, you can now add back the shrimp and stir well. Taste for salt and adjust accordingly as your salt appreciation will be different than mine. Cook for another 2-3 minutes and you’re done.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy pumpkin, especially with a pile of piping hot buss up shut roti and a side of kuchela! If you wanted to do this recipe fully vegan, you can always leave out the shrimp and add the pumpkin when I added the shrimp.. add a bit of coconut milk for extra flavor.

Meat & Poultry

Curry Cabbage With Leftover Caribbean Stewed Chicken.

May 27, 2025December 29, 201312 Comments

Cabbage is another one of those vegetables mom could never get us to eat, unless it was in chow mein or if she added leftover stewed meats to it. However these days you can always find cabbage in our crisper in the fridge as I add it to many dishes I prepare. Especially if I’m trying to ‘stretch’ a dish to feed more people. With left-over stewed chicken in the fridge, I thought this would be an excellent time to share the curry cabbage with stewed chicken mom would bribe us into eating cabbage when we were kids.

If you’re new to the website and don’t know what ‘Stewed chicken” is, see: Tasty Trinidad style stew chicken recipe.

You’ll Need…

1 medium cabbage (shredded)
1 small onion
4 cloves garlic
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon curry powder (your fav)
2 tablespoon veg oil
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* left over stewed chicken

Notes: I used a Caribbean made Madras curry powder in making this dish , but you’re free to use your favorite kind. This dish is just as delicious if you choose not to add any meats and have it fully vegetarian.

Shred the cabbage, crush the garlic, dice the onion and slice the scotch bonnet pepper (don’t use any of the seeds of the pepper or it will be very spicy). Then heat the oil on a medium flame and add the garlic and onion. Turn the heat down to low and allow this to slowly cook for 3-5 minutes.

With you heat still on low, add the curry powder and black pepper and mix around. Cook for another 3-4 minutes.. basically we’re toasting the curry powder to release all the flavors of the spices. It will go darker and grainy.

Turn the heat up to medium and start adding the cabbage, it will wilt as it cooks in the event you find that your pan is crowded. Add the scotch bonnet pepper and salt.

Turn the heat down to med-low, cover the pot and let it go for about 7 minutes or so. Stir a couple times during this cooking period.

Remove the lid (here is where you’ll personalize it a bit) and taste for salt and see if the texture is close to how you like it. Add the pieces of leftover stewed chicken, stir and turn up the heat to burn off any excess liquid (about 3-4 minutes).

For a little flair I added some chopped cherry tomatoes at the end. This is a wonderful side dish and goes well with rice or roti and is excellent on sandwiches.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

Gluten Free Meat & Poultry

Classic Coconut Curry Chicken With String Beans.

May 27, 2025August 7, 201314 Comments

This is a delightful dish our mom would prepare whenever there was leftover chicken from the day before (usually on a Monday). She would curry the beans and the last 5 minutes or so add in the chicken pieces for the perfect accompaniment for boiled rice or hot roti off the tawa. In this version I’ll do things a little different by doing the curry chicken base first, then we’ll add the trimmed beans and simmer it all in some coconut milk.

You’ll Need…

1.5 lbs chicken thighs
1 lb string beans
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Caribbean green seasoning
2 tablespoon veg oil
1.5 tablespoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon amchar massala (optional)
1 shallot
4 cloves garlic
5 birds eye pepper (aka bird pepper)
1 cup coconut milk

Notes. I used a madras curry blend (made in the Caribbean). The chicken thighs were deboned, but feel free to use bone-in (about 2lbs).. cook a little longer. Do NOT cut the peppers, simply remove the stems and use whole. We’ll get some flavor from them, without the raw heat. IMPORTANT: If doing this recipe gluten free, do ensure that the curry powder has no flour filler to meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs.

Cut the chicken into 1 -2 inch pieces, wash and drain. Then season with the salt, black pepper, green seasoning and amchar massala (you can also use ground roasted geera – cumin) and allow to marinate for about 1 hour. In the meantime you can trim the string beans (simply cut off the tips and cut into 2 inch pieces).

Heat the oil in a fairly large pan on med-high, then add the chopped shallot (you can also use onion) and garlic and turn the heat down to low. Cook this gently for about 3 minutes. Then add the curry powder and stir well. Cook for a further 3 minutes to get the raw curry taste out. It will go darker in colour and go a bit grainy.

Now add the peppers (do not break them unless you want the heat) and cook for about 30 seconds, then add in the seasoned chicken and mix well to deglaze the pan and to coat the chicken pieces with the lovely curry base we created.

Turn the heat up to medium/high and cook the chicken with the lid uncovered for about 4-5 minutes. Then add the trimmed beans and coconut milk (remember to give it a good stir) and bring to a boil. Place the lid on the pan and cook for about 10 minutes (depending on how well you like your beans cooked) on a simmer (so lower the heat).

Remove the lid and time to finish off the dish. You check for salt at this point (adjust accordingly) and you can also personalize the dish at this point. Depending if you want gravy or not, you can now turn up the heat and burn off all the remaining liquid. OPTIONAL: Toss in a few cherry tomatoes, turn off the heat and place the lid back on. The residual heat will soften the tomatoes so it does not go to mush and really give the dish some colour.

This is a dish Tehya simply craves (me too) and it’s a great way to get children eating vegetables. But please try to not overcook the beans as it will take on a soggy texture and loose it’s bright flavor.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

Sauces & Condiments

Red Mango – Spicy Preserved Fruits of Trinidad and Tobago.

May 28, 2025October 6, 200918 Comments

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of taking the drive over the Northern Range to the most popular beach in Trinidad, there’s no way you could miss the lookout stop where everyone stops for pictures and to enjoy some of the preserved treats that are sold by local vendors. If you’re lucky (we’ve not seen him the past couple times we were there) you may even encounter a fella with a guitar who serenades visitors with his guitar and calypso music.

Last week we took the drive a couple times as we tried to make the most of our vacation and enjoy the amazing weather, since we knew we were coming back to almost winter-like weather in Canada. Here’s a short video clip showing some of the preserved fruits that are sold at the look-out stop. I believe this way of preserving is influenced by the Chinese part of our heritage. It’s a combination of boiling or drying the fruit, then cooking it briefly in some sort of red food dye and a combination of spices and hot pepper.

As a boy I remember buying such preserves, but the options were limited to mango, plum and cherries. I was quite amazed to see the many other fruits that are now preserved.. even ones not found in the Caribbean, like peaches and olives.

BTW, the vendors also carry a wide selection of packages snacks (cookies, corn chips etc), as well as other island favourites like, tamarind ball, toolum, sugar cake, mango chow and “chinee” prunes.

In case you’re wondering what the name of the beach is, it’s called Maracas Bay and it’s a great place to cool off on the weekends. But be warned that the beach is a favourite with locals on the weekend, so expect crowds. We went 2 times during the week and we pretty much had the beach just to ourselves. And though it was not busy, the life guards were still on duty.

Seafood

Game day tomato and saltfish?

March 5, 2012September 9, 200933 Comments

tomato and saltfish recipe It’s tradition whenever the “Soca Warriors” play a game I try to cook up a batch of pelau. Nothing beats watching your favourite football (soccer) team and enjoying one of your favourite dishes. Today the “Warriors” are scheduled to play a very crucial game against the US, so normally by now I’d have seasoned chicken marinating to cook up as game time approaches. But today is a bit different. Lately I’ve been having a craving for ground provisions so I went out and purchased some eddoes. I was about to make some stewed beef to go with the eddoes, but since time is against me I’ve settled for tomato and saltfish. After all it’s fairly quick and easy to prepare and it doesn’t require having to thaw out frozen meat from the freezer.

So I’ve gone ahead and made up a batch of saltfish with tomatoes (which I will reheat later) and about 30 minutes before the game starts I’ll put the eddoes to boil. If you’re not familiar with eddoes, do a keyword search in search box (top right) above.

You’ll need…

4-6 oz of salted fish
1 large tomato sliced
1 scallion sliced
1 medium onion sliced
1-2 cloves garlic sliced thin
2-3 chili peppers (optional) or use whatever hot pepper you have or like
fresh ground black pepper
couple sprigs thyme (optional)
1 teaspoon ketchup
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Start by placing the saltfish in a fairly deep bowl, then pour enough boiling water to completely cover it. Allow this to soak from about 25 minutes, then rinse and squeeze out any extra water (remember to make sure the water is cool so you don’t get burn). Then shred the saltfish as we did when we made the saltfish buljol recipe.

saltifsh recipe

how to cook saltfish

cooking tomato and saltfish

The next step is to slice the onion, galric, tomato and scallion. Then in a saucepan heat the oil and toss in the pieces of saltfish. Allow this to cook for about 1-2 minutes so the oil is flavoured with the salted fish. Then add the garlic, pepper and onion and allow this to cook for another couple minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients.

trinidad tomato and saltfish

fry saltfish

how to make tomato and saltfish

trini tomato and saltfish

Be sure to add a dash of fresh ground black pepper and stir everything around. Allow this to cook for another couple minutes, then it’s ready for serving. If you wish, at the end you can toss is a teaspoon of Goldenray butter, but you have to be careful that the dish doesn’t go salty. Remember the fish was cured in salt, so it can easily have too much salt by adding the Goldenray butter.

tomato and saltfish

tomato and saltfish recipe

Since I added whole chili peppers and not sliced scotch bonnet or habanero, near the end I use my spoon to crush the pepper in the pot so it releases some of it’s heat into the dish. But as mentioned, the pepper is totally optional.

Not only is this great with ground provisions like eddoes, yam, cassava, green bananas and dasheen, it’s also excellent with roti or fry bake. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong using it for sandwiches as well (just use less oil).

Let’s just hope I can get a link online to watch the game tonight.

Happy Cooking and don’t forget to leave me your questions or comments below.

Trinidad

Insanely Spicy Canadian Mother In Law.

Tasty Vegetarian 3 Spinach Rice

Yam With Stewed Saltfish.

Curry Shrimp With Pumpkin.

Curry Cabbage With Leftover Caribbean Stewed Chicken.

Classic Coconut Curry Chicken With String Beans.

Red Mango – Spicy Preserved Fruits of Trinidad and Tobago.

Game day tomato and saltfish?

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