I remember a few years back my cousin (jokingly) saying to us “my wife made me guacamole and roti for breakfast”. After the laughter subsided we soon realized that he may have a point. What we lovingly call zabouca choka in Trinidad and Tobago, is pretty much the same thing known as guacamole in other parts of the world. So if you feel that your boi Chris misled you with the title of this recipe… I’m using the choka recipe as a base to create a Caribbean version of guacamole.
You’ll Need…
4 ripe avocados *
3/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper (any hot pepper will work)
2 limes (juice)
3/4 cup diced mango (ripe but firm)
2 tablespoon chopped shado beni *
1 clove garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
Notes: I used Mexican avocados as the texture is a bit different than the avocados (zabouca or pear) we have in the Caribbean, plus I was not about to pay $4 cdn for one of those avocados. If you can’t source shado beni (also called culantro in Latin grocery stores) use 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro. If you don’t have a red onion, use any sweet onion.. everyday cooking onions may be a bit to strong for this.
Using a mortar and pestle, crush the scotch bonnet pepper, garlic and salt into a somewhat smooth paste. Then place this wicked spicy paste into a deep bowl and add the peeled and diced avocado to it. Using the back of a fork, crush the avocado until you have a chunky texture (you can make it as smooth as you like). To prevent the avocado from going discolored, squeeze in the lime juice at this point and give it a good stir.
It’s now time to peel and cube the mango. Be sure to get a mango that’s not fully ripe, so it’s firm enough to dice and will not fall apart.You’ll need about 1/2 of a large mango. Add the cubed mango to the bowl.
Add the chopped shado beni (or cilantro) and top with finely diced onion. Don’t stir yet.
Heat the oil on a medium flame and just before you start seeing smoke… pour it directly on the diced onions. This will help take some of the rawness out, so you won’t have karate breath after. Give it a good stir and serve or chill in the fridge. Get some corn chips or toast some flat bread and your guests will be praising you for sure!
There’s enough dip with this recipe for a small group of people (8-10) and it can last up to a day or so in the refrigerator. Remember to use the lime juice to prevent it going nasty looking (lemon works just as well). If you love heat, do add a bit more of the scotch bonnet pepper.
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Zaboca (avocado) season was one of favourite times of the year when we were growing up on the islands. Now my seasons are reduced to summer, winter, spring and fall. As a kid we enjoyed, mango season, avocado season, plum season.. you get the picture… the fruit dictated the seasons for us. To this day, whenever someone’s visiting Canada from the islands they usually bring me some of those wonderful pears we call Zaboca(providing they’re in season). Sure they’re readily available in the grocery stores here, but they’re the tiny 
