Curry, Callaloo & Calypso - Macmillan Caribbean

Snacks and
Indian delicacies
Snacking is a popular pastime here in Trinidad and Tobago – that’s because
we love to ‘lime’, or get together, with friends and family for a good time. No
lime is complete without food and drink. But our love of snacking goes beyond
liming. We, as a nation, are in love with food. Who can blame us? There is always
something delicious waiting to be consumed around the corner!
The number-one snack food item is our East Indian treat, doubles (a spicy
curried channa filling coddled between two pieces of fried flavoured dough,
bara). This has become so popular that, with other Indian delicacies, it is now
a mainstay of our culinary culture. Although most of the Indian foods available
in Trinidad and Tobago were inspired by our Indian ancestors, I’d say doubles is
an invention all our own! It’s Trinidadian street food as opposed to Trinidadian
Indian food. Any and every Trini can be caught enjoying a doubles at some time.
Any visit to Trinidad would be incomplete until you have tried doubles and some
of the other Indian delicacies offered for sale by these vendors.
Pies are also a popular snack item. Also called turnovers, we enjoy them filled
with fish, beef, chow mein vegetables and potato. Pie vendors sell from shops or
on foot with their home-made goodies in their food baskets. Other delightful
appetizers include crab backs, shrimp cocktail, curry crab stuffed dumplings,
boiled and roast corn, wontons and
arepas – to name just a few.
We also love lip-puckering
delights, such as our souses. Even
our mango chow, a salsa made with
green mangoes and seasonings of
vinegar, pepper, salt and garlic, is so
popular that vendors sell it at traffic
intersections!
Other popular snack items are
crispy fried channa and peanuts.
Baked peanuts, skin on, are sold by
roadside vendors, mostly in Port
of Spain, and by vendors on foot
at busy intersections. They are also sold at sporting events, especially cricket
matches – where some vendors throw their packaged nuts up into the stands
even before receiving payment!
Country cricket match
Whether it’s a beach lime, a cricket lime, or just a house gathering, Trinis snack
from sunup to sundown, and you are sure to enjoy any of the addictive bites
contained in this section.
9780230038578.indd 21 25/07/2011 13:09