Curry, Callaloo & Calypso - Macmillan Caribbean

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