Curry, Callaloo & Calypso - Macmillan Caribbean

More documents

Recommendations

Info

It would be remiss of me not to speak briefly about the cooking methods that were used in the early days. The slaves would cook for the plantation owners, much of the cooking taking place in a building away from the great house. In these buildings the slaves usually cooked on an open fire contained by large stones. The fire was made in the centre and the pots placed upon the frame of the stones. If baking was done on this fire the pot was placed over the fire, and the bread dough placed in the pot. The pot was then covered with a sheet of metal and some heat was placed on top of this metal sheet so as to give heat at both ends. This method was used to make what we know as ‘pot bake’. Meats were spit-roasted on an open spit. Other baked items were cooked in a dirt oven, and many areas had a communal oven where anyone could go to bake their breads and cakes. By 1797 the English had conquered the islands, also bringing their own slaves, and a distinctively different type of cooking began to surface. English expertise was shown in the making of jams and jellies, and beverages like mauby, sorrel and ginger beer. In 1834 the slaves were emancipated, and from then they refused to work on the plantations. The skilled cooks amongst them set up shop on street corners, selling dishes they had learned to cook, such as souse and black pudding, and hence the parlour or shop-front refreshment stand was born. The land-owners then began to import workers from Barbados, who brought their own form of recipes such as float and accras and heavy coconut sweet bread. These were sold under rum shops and in some instances on the street corner. Workers also began to arrive from China, Portugal and Madeira, all leaving their mark on our culinary map. The largest group amongst these was the Chinese, whose cooking was changed considerably to suit the palates of the locals. Their cuisine is very popular as is evident by the number of Trinidad-Chinese restaurants that exist today. East Indian immigrants began to arrive between 1845 and 1917, and were registered under the indenture-ship system to Trinidad. They brought with them spices like coriander, also called dhannia, cumin seed (geera), turmeric or saffron powder, fenugreek, dried legumes such as channa (chickpeas), rice, and two sorts of animal: the water buffalo for hard labour and a type of humped cattle that provided milk for their beloved yogurt and butter which was made into ghee. The spices were ground by hand on what was called a sill and made into curries, which have evolved through the years to the distinctively delicious curry that has become indigenous to our country. The East Indians brought not only ingredients but their own specific methods of cooking. When they first arrived they began to cook on a chulla, or mud stove, made with a combination of river mud, leaves and sticks, and cow dung. Water was used to smooth the mud to get a finished look, a process called leepay. The fire burned from the base of the chulla. After the chulla came the coal pot, and then the oil stove followed by the gasoline stove and, of course, the electric stove. 16 Indentured labourer certificate 9780230038578.indd 16 25/07/2011 13:08
The Indians made their rotis on a tavah (tawah), or baking stone, over the chulla. They roasted vegetables to make chokas, ground peas for fritters, and preserved fruits such as mango for kutchela and amchar to ensure there was a constant supply of hot and sour condiments to accent their meals. They deep-fried small rotis known as ‘pooris’; today we enjoy the same but we call them fried bakes. The rotis they cooked when they came were chapattis and parathas; the chapattis are now known as sada roti, the paratha has remained much the same. Through the years, they introduced the dhalpouri roti or split pea stuffed roti. The immigrant Indians improvised in the kitchen to produce foods that were close to those of their motherland. This improvisation resulted in our local East Indian foods: Indian delicacies, flaky rotis, curries, condiments, vegetables and sweets, specific only to the <strong>Caribbean</strong>. At the end of their indenture-ship period the Indians were given the choice of returning to India or remaining in Trinidad, where they were given the option to purchase land. Those that chose to stay purchased lands and either remained in the sugar industry or went into farming cocoa and coconuts on their own estates. Those that embraced cooking started to sell roti in the parlours. Those roti parlours have become a part of our ‘fast food’ empire here in Trinidad and are known as roti shops. Others chose to sell ‘doubles’ from bicycles with carts attached. These have become a national culinary institution, and today doubles vendors can be found all over the country at varying times of day. After the Indians came many other settlers, such as the Syrians and more Europeans. They too have tried to preserve the foods of their homelands and these influences are noted in our cuisine as well. Today many of our culinary customs are still observed and some of the methods that have been described here are still preserved in our rural areas. The foods that we now enjoy are a direct result of a fusion of those influences left to us by our forefathers. When we talk about the cuisine of Trinidad and Tobago, it is Indian and Creole foods which top the list of rich inherited dishes; both form the foundation of our national culinary landscape. These are the foods that have indeed etched a place for Trinidad and Tobago on the world culinary map. Modern-day chulla 17 9780230038578.indd 17 25/07/2011 13:08
Page 1 and 2: Curry, Callaloo & Calypso 978023003
Page 3 and 4: Curry, Callaloo & Calypso The real
Page 5 and 6: Contents Introduction 7 A brief cul
Page 7 and 8: Introduction We are a nation in lov
Page 9 and 10: Lunch menu board Mangrove roots Goa
Page 11 and 12: 9780230038578.indd 11 25/07/2011 13
Page 13 and 14: Yams and plantains were other popul
Page 15: The African slaves also had a great
Page 19 and 20: Maracas Bay 19 9780230038578.indd 1
Page 21 and 22: Snacks and Indian delicacies Snacki
Page 23 and 24: 9780230038578.indd 23 25/07/2011 13

Curry, Callaloo & Calypso - Macmillan Caribbean

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?