Curry, Callaloo & Calypso - Macmillan Caribbean
Curry, Callaloo & Calypso - Macmillan Caribbean
Curry, Callaloo & Calypso - Macmillan Caribbean
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Guava<br />
10<br />
Bundles of chive<br />
at market<br />
When we start a Trini pot cooking, we first fry a mixture of garlic,<br />
onions, herbs and peppers in some oil before adding our meats. This<br />
resembles the sofrito of the Spanish <strong>Caribbean</strong> islands, and it’s a<br />
method that was left by our Spanish forefathers. Other times we<br />
caramelize sugar to a rich brown colour then add the meat. This<br />
effective browning method comes from our African ancestors and<br />
results in a perfectly coloured stew. Bright red roucou (annatto) was<br />
also used to give a rich-coloured stew. The chonkeying of our dhals<br />
and chokas (burning of garlic and pepper and/or cumin in hot oil)<br />
is a culinary gift from our Indian brothers and sisters – split pea soup<br />
magically turns into dhal when it is chonkeyed; even the sautéing of our<br />
curries in hot oil with garlic is indigenous and essential to a true Trini curry.<br />
All these techniques are important to a Trinidadian cook and it’s what makes<br />
our cuisine so special.<br />
Between the covers of <strong>Curry</strong>, <strong>Callaloo</strong> & <strong>Calypso</strong> you will find traditional<br />
recipes like saltfish buljol, breadfruit oiled down, rotis, curries, stews and<br />
dumplings, bakes and accras, callaloo and coo coo. Foods that I grew up<br />
enjoying as a girl, and foods I still prepare and look forward to eating today<br />
with my family. You will also find some personal favourites that make me<br />
nostalgic for my old Trinidad, like my mother’s coconut cake, old-fashioned<br />
guava cheese, aloo poori roti, juicy sugar cakes.<br />
I am a true lover of the foods of my islands. I hope the spirit of my recipes<br />
will bring you back to your kitchen and that you too will fall in love with a<br />
cuisine that is stunningly diverse and exceptionally delicious.<br />
Coconut vendor, Queen’s Park Savannah<br />
9780230038578.indd 10 25/07/2011 13:08