trinidad curry recipe

Mother In Law? If you’re not from Trinidad and Tobago or the other parts of the Caribbean you may not know what this dish is and why it’s called Mother In Law. I strongly believe the name stems from it being a VERY Hot n Spicy condiment.. the sort of trait we generally associate with one’s Mother In Law. But that would be a guess. Should you know a different explanation, please share in the comment section below. I know I said that the Roasted Pepper Choka was the ultimate condiment (side) to curry dishes, however this Carilie Mother In Law could also lay claim to that title.

You’ll Need…

2 Carilie
2 limes (juice)
2 medium carrots
5-8 chives
1 medium red onion
6 cloves garlic
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 scotch bonnet pepper
2 fatali peppers
1 pimento pepper (aka seasoning pepper)
6-10 leaves shado beni
1/2 cup white vinegar

Notes. With the Carilie (bitter melon) I explained in the video below that I had 1 which was fully mature (which was used in the food processor) and the other wasn’t fully mature (different flavor), which was sliced thinly. Ultimately the goal was to not only have different flavors from the Carilie, but textures as well. If doing this dish gluten free, please go through the full list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten fre dieary requirements.

Carilie – Momordica charantia commonly called bitter melon, goya, bitter apple, bitter gourd, bitter squash and balsam pear.

Give everything a rinse with cool water. Then rough-chop the onion, peppers ( I used Scotch Bonnet, Fatali and Pimento Peppers… use any HOT peppers you have available), carrots and chives. Please note that as explained in the video below, the Pimento pepper is not hot, but the flavor is simply amazing. If you can source it at you local West Indian market, may I recommend getting a couple.

With the mature Carilie, I cut it down the center, removed the inner seeds area with a spoon and gave it a rough chop as well. To make it easier work for my food processor. You may use a blender or hand-chop everything as it was traditionally done back in the day.

Place the onion, garlic, salt, peppers, carrots, shado beni (chadon beni) and chives into the food processor. I used a red onion as it’s much milder in flavor than the everyday onion, plus the red color makes it more attractive looking at the end.

Squeeze in the juice of the limes.

May I recommend that you pulse and not have it on a continuous speed or you may end up with a puree. This is supposed to have a bit of texture to it. Should you want to add more hot peppers do so, and remember to wear gloves and wash your hands with soap and water after handling hot peppers.

With the other (non-mature) carilie, cut it into 3-4 parts, then remove the core (see the video below), then slice as thinly as you can.

Mix everything together and add the white vinegar.

If you wanted to add another flavor to things (I prefer it like this) add a 1/2 teaspoon of ground roasted geera (cumin). Store in a container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Adjust the salt if you find that it’s overly tart. Another excellent side to curry dishes.

Are you a spicy Mother In Law?

Seafood

How To Cook Curry Lobster The Caribbean Way.

November 12, 2014November 28, 20139 Comments

If I were to count using my fingers the amount of times this dish was cooked in our home growing up, I’d have room left to count 10 other dishes. Curry lobster (or lobster curry as our Guyanese cousins say) never made it to our dinner table as far as I could remember. However curry crabs (simmered in freshly made coconut milk) served with flour dumplings was a regular thing. Let’s mimic that curry crab recipe, with the use of these succulent lobster pieces for what could only be described as the ultimate curry lobster.

Quick lobster note… lobsters found in the tropical waters of the Caribbean are different than the ones most North Americans are familiar with (like Maine lobsters). The Caribbean lobster tend to be a bit more boney (spiny), there’s a subtle difference in taste and they have no claws. I remember snorkeling in the pristine waters of Tobago (Buccoo Reef) a few years back and catching my first ever spiny lobster. With no means of sparking up a fire and cooking it.. let’s just say that was the last time a lobster got away from me!

You’ll Need…

2 lobsters (about 3lbs)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tomato
1 tablespoon Caribbean green seasoning
1/4 teaspoon roasted geera (cumin)
1/4 teaspoon amchar massala (optional)
4 cloves garlic
1 small onion
2 sprigs thyme
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper
1 cup water

2 tablespoon veg oil
3 tablespoon curry powder
1/4 cup water to cook the curry
1/4 onion for cooking curry

Wash, clean and cut the lobster into pieces. I used a Maine lobster, so I had claws (crack then a few places for the marinade and curry to do it’s thing from the inside -out)… season with the salt, tomato, garlic , onion, garlic, green seasoning, amchar massala, black pepper, roasted geera, thyme and scotch bonnet pepper. Please allow this to marinate for at least 2 hrs in the fridge. Remember to take it out of the fridge about 15 minutes before you’re ready to start the curry, so it comes back to room temp before cooking.

Heat the oil in a deep pot on medium heat and add the diced 1/4 onion. Lower the heat to low and let it cook for 2 minutes. Meanwhile in a small bowl, mix the curry powder and 1/4 cup of water to form a sort of thick paste. Pour in the curry mix and cook on low for about 3-5 minutes, until it starts to cook down, go grainy and start to clump. (see images below)

The goal here is to cook off the raw curry taste and to really intensify the overall curry flavors. Turn up your heat if you find that it’s not cooking down. You should have a thick paste, with signs of the vegetable oil you started off with. If you’ve not already done so, turn the heat up to medium high and start adding the marinated lobster pieces to the pot, stirring as you do to pick up all that great curry flavors from the bottom of the pot. Try to coat all the pieces of the lobster with the curry base we created. Place the lid on the pot and bring to a boil. It will release it’s own juices. Let that simmer for a couple minutes, then remove the lid and turn up the heat.

The goal now is to intensify the combined flavors of the curry, seasonings and lobster. Burn off any liquid. In the same bowl you marinated the lobster, pour in the 1 cup of water and stir to pick up all remaining marinade. Pour in the water (mixed with any remaining marinade) into the pot and bring to a boil.

The lobster will go a brilliant red/orange color as it cooks and stand out brilliantly against the rich greenish color of the curry sauce. With the pot uncovered, let that cook for another 4-6 minutes or until the lobster is cooked to your liking (try to not overcook). Personalize this curry lobster by tasting for salt and adjusting accordingly and the the gravy or sauce should be as thick as you like.

Since I had my mom’s help in cooking this tasty curry lobster, she usually finishes off her curry dishes with a topping of finely chopped shado beni (aka culantro, chadon beni or bandanya), if you can’t source shado beni, cilantro works great. Add when you turn off the stove.

You can get creative by using coconut milk instead of the 1 cup of water, but I personally find that it mellows the overall taste too much and takes away from the lovey flavors of the lobster itself.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

Vegetarian

Distinctive Curry Seim With Potato.

March 5, 2012November 10, 201114 Comments

Seim (see Hyacinth Bean if you don’t know what they are) was yet another dish my mom would cook occasionally, which she couldn’t even force us to eat as kids. She would add coconut milk, left over pieces of stewed meats and even pieces of salted cod to try and get us to eat it… no luck! As a grown man I still don’t have much of an appetite for it and it’s mainly due to the distinctive flavor it possesses. Though it’s cooked in the same manner as bodi, something which I really like, I just can’t fully appreciate that unique sort of flavor seim has. A flavor which is very difficult to describe… can a vegetable/bean be ‘gamey’?

This curry seim recipe is a wonderful vegetarian dish but you can also add pieces of meats as mentioned above, if you’d like to enhance the overall flavor.

You’ll Need…
1 pound seim (cleaned and trimmed)
1 tablespoon madras curry powder (Caribbean blend)
3/4 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup water
1/2 small onion
3 chilies (I had some bird pepper in the fridge)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon veg oil
dash black pepper
2 medium potatoes cubed (I like Yukon gold’s creaminess)

*3 tablespoons water for cooking the curry.

First up, we need to wash, clean and trim the seim (see video at the bottom of the post). Using a sharp pairing knife, strip the edges off the seim, then cut into 2 pieces. The edges will not cook down and will be stringy and tough, so we must remove them. Depending on the size of your seim, cut into 2 or 4 pieces and remember to keep the peas (seeds) as well. Prepare the potato, onion, garlic and pepper so we’re good to go when we get started.

In a fairly deep saucepan, heat the vegetable oil on medium heat, then toss in the madras curry powder, stir and allow to cook for a couple minutes. Then add the sliced onion, garlic and hot pepper so they release their oils and flavor the dish. Give that another minute, then add 3 tablespoons of water and allow to cook for about 3-5 minutes on a low heat. After which you can turn up the heat and allow the curry mixture to cook down completely.(you can also make a slurry with the curry powder, garlic, onion, pepper and water and add to the heated oil as well)

When the liquid dries down and the curry paste we just made starts to get darker and stick to the bottom of the pan, add the trimmed seim, potato chunks, salt, black pepper and give it a good stir.

Next up is to add the coconut milk and water. Bring that up to a boil by raising the heat. Now reduce that to a very gentle simmer, cover the pot and allow to cook for about 30 minutes.

Remember to stir occasionally while it cooks. After 30 minutes the seim should be tender and the potato should start to melt away to form a thick sort of gravy. If there’s a lot of liquid left in the pan, raise the heat so that can burn-off. I recall my mom making this very dry (no gravy), but I do like some gravy to eat with my roti or rice.

I just so happened to have some buss up shut roti in he freezer which I reheated, along with some mango kuchela to round off my meal. This recipe should be enough for four people as a side dish in case you’re wondering.

Before you go I invite you to leave me your comments below.. even if it just to say hello. It’s always appreciated. And don’t forget to join us on facebook and do check out the cooking videos.

Vegetarian

Flavorsome Curry String Beans.

March 5, 2012May 3, 2010172 Comments

how to cook curry string beans 11 Over the years I’ve grown very fond of vegetarian type dishes and if you recall, back in July of last year (wow it’s been almost a year) I shared a recipe for cooking French beans in coconut milk. Today we’re using the same beans (is there a difference between French and string beans?), except they’re called string beans in the Caribbean and we’ll be giving it that added “kick” of flavour with some madras curry powder. In case you’re wondering, YES there is a difference in the curry you get in the Caribbean as compared to the ones from India.

There are 2 things you can add to this dish to make a bit different. 1 You can add some coconut milk to it instead of the water mentioned in the ingredients list. 2. By adding some shredded pieces of salted cod (dry) it gives the dish another level of flavour. But trust-me, the recipe below will amaze you and anyone you share it with.

You’ll Need…

1 lb string beans (French beans)
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/4 hot pepper (habanero, scotch bonnet or any of your faves)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 onion sliced
4 gloves garlic grated or crushed
3 tablespoon water to mix the curry
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 cup water

* My choice for curry powder has always been the “Raja Jahan Special Madras Curry” which you can easily get at any Caribbean food store if you live outside Trinidad and Tobago or online at Amazon.com.

Start by washing the beans and allow to drain. The next step is to remove both ends (stems) and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces. For faster cooking time I usually then slice these 1 1/2 inch pieces down the middle (see pic below) using a pairing knife. But you don’t have to do this step if you don’t feel like it.

how to cook curry string beans 1

how to cook curry string beans 3

how to cook curry string beans 2

In a saucepan put the oil to heat on medium heat and add 1/2 of the onion and allow to cook for a couple minutes. Then take the curry powder and put it in a bowl with the 3 tablespoon of water (mix around). Then pour that into the pan and stir. Allow that to cook for a minute, then add the rest of the sliced onion, grate the garlic into the pan (or crush) and add the slice of hot pepper. Cook that for a few minutes until most of the liquid dries off, then add the sliced beans and stir around.

how to cook curry string beans 4

how to cook curry string beans 5

how to cook curry string beans 6

how to cook curry string beans 8

how to cook curry string beans 7

how to cook curry string beans 9

how to cook curry string beans 10

Stir thoroughly, add the salt and cook for a few minutes before adding the 3/4 cup of water. Once you add the water, turn down the heat to low, cover and cook for about 20 minutes. Stir about3-4 times during the cooking process.

how to cook curry string beans 11

how to cook curry string beans 12

The finished dish will not be as brilliant green as when you first started and please try to burn off all the liquid that we added. This is great with roti (sada and buss up shut) as well as rice and even breads. And there’s no reason why it can’t be a side dish at your next family dinner. Healthy and tasty, you just can’t beat this one.

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WIN NEW CONTEST WIN

Special thanks to everyone who participated in last month’s contest. The winner was announce earlier today, so we’d like to hear from you if you were the winner so we know where to ship the prize.

For the month of May, the best month in the year (I’m a Taurus) I want to give one lucky contestant a KitchenAid Santoku Knife. All you have to do is leave me a comment below about the recipe, about the blog in general or just say hello. Then your name is automatically entered to win. It’s that simple. Here’s a pic of the knife I’ll personally ship out to you (I’ll cover all shipping charges as well).

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– this contest is open to everyone globally

– all you have to do is leave a comment on this post and you’ll be automatically entered to win

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Vegetarian

Curry Channa (Chickpeas) With Aloo Recipe.

November 12, 2014October 26, 200954 Comments

aloo and channa Channa and aloo or “chickpeas with potato” cooked in curry and stuffed into “hops” bread was a fav of mine growing up. I would visit my uncle who was a teacher at Marabella Junior Secondary school and just outside the gates were vendors selling all sorts of local street food. Including channa and aloo sandwiches (they also had a range of hotsauces to top this off with). Then how could one forget Divali time when we would get invited to our friends place down the road for dinner. This usually meant curry channa and aloo with roti. It was a festive time and the table would be packed with a huge assortment of dishes, but all I ever wanted was the buss-up-shut roti and channa with aloo.

In my recipe I used canned channa, but if you have access to the dry peas and you have the time, give those a try as well. It just means you’ll have to boil the dry version until tender before adding to the curry potato. But you’ll avoid having to use processed peas which sits in a ton of salt and whatever else is used in canning process.

You’ll Need…

1 can chickpeas (also known as channa, garbanzo bean, Indian pea, ceci bean, bengal gram, Kabuli chana, konda kadalai, kadale kaalu, sanaga pappu, shimbra, Kadala)
2 tablespoon curry powder (madras)
1/4 teaspoon salt (add more to your taste)
dash black pepper
1/2 medium onion sliced thin
1/4 hot pepper (I use habanero or scotch bonnet)
3 cloves garlic – crushed and minced
3 leaves of shado beni (or 2 tablespoon cilantro)
2 medium potatoes cubed
2 tablespoons water for the curry paste
4 tablespoons water to add to the cooked curry
2 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil

You have 2 options when using the canned channa. You can rinse and cook or rinse, remove the skin and then cook. Since I hate the sort of gritty taste the skin gives the dish, I usually remove the skins from each channa grain. Yes, it does take about 15-20 minutes to remove them all, but the end result is much better in my opinion. Side note: If you were to purchase any dish that comes with curry channa (doubles to name one) the vendor would not have taken the time to remove the skins off the channa. So you know it tastes good even with the skin.. it’s just my personal choice.

After I’ve emptied the can of channa and rinsed it under running water, I start removing the outer skin. This is rather simple… take a channa between your fingers and apply a little pressure. The skin and channa will separate easily.

chickpeas or channa

channa for curry

how to remove the skin from chickpeas

cooking curry channa

channa with aloo

Now that we’ve removed all of the outer layer from the channa it’s time to slice and mince up the onion, pepper, garlic and shado beni to start cooking. Don’t forget to peel and dice the potato as well. In a fairly deep saucepan, heat the oil on medium to high heat and get ready to cook the curry a bit. Put the curry in a small bowl and pour in the 2 tablespoons of water, then stir to a thick paste. Pour this into the heated oil and allow to cook for a few minutes. As it dries down a bit, add the onion, garlic, pepper and shadow beni and stir around. To give this a bit of time to cook, add about 4 tablespoons of water. (you’ll cook the curry mixture for 4-8 minutes in total)

curry channa ingredients

curry channa recipe

curry for channa

fry curry for channa

When the onion and garlic is soft and the liquid is all burnt off, add the potato and stir around to coat every piece with the curry mixture we just made. Immediately after add the channa and stir.

curry chickpeas

trini curry channa

channa and aloo

Pour in the 2 and 1/2 cups of water, add the salt and a dash of black pepper then bring to a boil and reduce to a gentle simmer (pot closed). Allow this to cook for about 20 minutes or until the potato is tender. By now the water would have dried up and a thick sauce should have started to form. I like this dish with a bit of a thick gravy or sauce so using the back of my cooking spoon I press down on the potato and some of the channa. Then stir around so any runny liquid will get nice and thick. If you notice that after the 20 minutes cooking time you have little or no liquid in the pot, feel free to add some more and bring it to a boil. Same trick applies.. push down using the back of your spoon to help thicken the sauce.

trini curry channa and aloo

curry aloo and channa

trinidad curry channa

Sometimes you wonder why it’s taken you this long to make something you usually purchase, when it’s so simple to make. leave me your thoughts below.

Happy Cooking

Chris…

p.s. hops bread is a a local bun the size of a hamburger bun in Canada and the US. It’s the main bun used for making sandwiches and you can get a fresh made batch at any of the local bakeries.

Carilie (bitter melon) Mother In Law.

How To Cook Curry Lobster The Caribbean Way.

Distinctive Curry Seim With Potato.

Flavorsome Curry String Beans.

Curry Channa (Chickpeas) With Aloo Recipe.

Hi, I'm Chris.

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