Culturally Influenced Quick Fix Meals

So you came home from work and you're feeling to tired to cook and on top of that you're stomach doing more kung fu than Jet Li in a movie. So you're thinking what is the quickest thing you can whip up in the kitchen in 5-10 mins.Well here is a little history on some of our 'Trini' quick fix meals.

The term 'corned' comes from putting meat in a large crock and covering it with large rock salt that was referred to as 'corns of salt'.Before corned beef was salted beef which was practiced in ancient times in cold countries, they found that the meat didn't spoil if it made contact with enough salt.

The Irish were the biggest exporters of corned beef till 1825 where it was introduced to America.

Curried corned beef with potatoes and rice

Ramen noodles with vegetables

Ramen was introduced to Japan by some Chinese tradesmen in the 19th century.The word Ramen means 'noodles in soup broth'. When the U.S occupied Japan it imported wheat as away to contain communism.In 1970, ramen was introduced to the U.S by a company called Nissin which generated over 6 billion in profits.

It's pasta so of course it has some Italian origin.It is also said that
U.S President Thomas Jefferson at the time encountered this dish in
Italy and brough back to recipe to the United States where the famous
company Kraft put it a box in 1937.
'Lasanis' in the 13th century was said to be the first mac and cheese recipe

Macaroni and cheese

where parmesan cheese was originally used before they started
using cheddar cheese.

East Indian cooking

Roti is the most popular East Indian dish and can be found in restaurants and roti shops nationwide. Our roti is quite different to what they serve in India and other parts of the world where a bread name 'nan' is served with the curry. There are different types of roti; dhalpuri, doshi and buss up shot just to name a few. These are prepared with any curried meats such as; chicken, duck, goat and shrimp. Complimenting these are dishes such as;curried mango, pumpkin and bodi.

Check out this link for the top ten roti shops in Trinidad ttp://www.macocaribbean.com/trinidad/restaurants/trinidad-and-tobagos-10-best-roti-shops/

Some of the cooking utensils the East Indians brought with them to Trinidad are;

Tawa- baking stone, where the roti is cooked
Belna - rolling pin

Dabila - flat, wooden spoon

Muser-pestle
Dhall-ghotni - swizzle stick
Sup - strainer
Muser-pestle

Some of the fruits and vegetables that are popular in the foods prepared are;
Dhal- split peas
Aloo-potato
Baigan- egg plant
Ghee- clarified butter

The many influences of Pelau

Pelau is one of the dishes that really exemplifies Trinidad cuisine because it is a mixture of various cooking styles. Pelau or rice with meat, vegetables, is a variation or East Indian 'Pilau' which originated in Persia where it is called 'polow'. The Anglicanized version of the dish is called 'pilaf'. The process of browning the meat in sugar for Pelau is an African tradition and ketchup. Chicken is the most popular meat, even beef can be used. Pigeon peas are traditionally used for the dish but pinto beans or black peas can also be used.

Pelau goes by other names such as; polo, polloi, Palau , plov. Pelau is traditionally a rice dish cooked in seasoned broth it attained its brown color by being stirred with pieces of cooked onion, as well as spices. Now we burn sugar which we use as browning for the rice. 'Pilaf' is mostly common from all parts of the world such as;Balkan, Middle East, South Asia, East Africa  and Latin America. Also,it is a staple food and national dish in Afghan and Iran.

Afghan pilaf

Polav pilaf

I love my Pelau with Cole saw or a slice of avocado. Other side dishes that go with Pelau are fresh salad, macaroni salad and potato salad.

Amerindian Foods

Amerindians have existed in Trinidad and Tobago for over 6,000 years and numbered at least 40,000 people at the time of Columbus's discovery. Other than place names such as: Caroni, Arouca, Caura, Chaguanas and Mayaro just to name a few and their skills for making canoes, fans and mats.Amerindians were the ones who first discovered some of our vegetables like, yam, cassava and sweet potatoes.

They made 'cassava bread 'which was originally called 'cassareep' where they would remove the poisonous prussia acid of cassava juice into a vinegar where they would then make

     cassava bread.

'Roucou' which was used for flavoring meat and giving it color, we now use in our pastelles.

 'Chardon beni' which was used as a seasoning for meat and we still use to season almost anything.

Other foods included 'farine' and' corn patella's which also has a Spanish influence, but we'll talk about that in a later post with our Spanish influence foods. Also 'warap' which is a cereal and don't forget our love for cocoa was first introduced by the Amerindians.

Amerindians and Wildmeat

Oh how Trinis like their wild meat, well we have the Amerindians to thank for that. They were the ones who hunted and killed the little critters. Their primary activities were hunting and agriculture, so they would hunt and kill agouti, iguana which is also calls opossum, lappe, 'quenk' better known as wild hog and tattoo known to the rest of the world as armadillo.

Amerindians preparing the meat

 'Buccaneering" was a method practiced by the Amerindians.It came from the word 'buccan' for smoking meat.This was used was for preserving the meat and is still practiced in many parts of Trinidad.

Tattoo also known as armadillo

 Wild meat is highly sought after during hunting season  from the 1st October - the end of February. Now wild meat is prepared as both a Créole and Curried dish and usually goes with dumpling or ground provision.

A pot with cooked wild meat

Trini Liming Foods

Where there is food and drinks, there are Trinis. Trinis have to be the happiest people in the world because they know how to deal with stress and how to make every occasion into a 'lime'

Bake and shark is a Trini favourite, whether we buy it at Maracas beach or the side of the road, there are always long lines.There are many sauces to choose from, tamarind, chado beni, garlic and our traditional sauces like ketchup and don't forget the cole saw that crunh you get when you bite into it which is the best part for me

I don't think I know any Trini who doesn't like doubles. Doubles is the only food we eating for breakfast, lunch and dinner By far the best doubles I have tasted was in Debe oh gosh that thing cut the barra was soft, the sauces was on point, the channa was well seasoned.My favourite sauces are tamarind and coconut.Big up to the doubles men who wok tediously to ensure before or after work or even on the weekend we get our doubles and don't forget that red solo or apple j

Mostly popular around carnival time, this Trini favourite.Corn soup is not only a liming food but a full meal.The fun part is that you can put anything in it, pigtail, dumpling or provision.What gives it that creamy taste and flavou is the coconut milk, then you add your seasonings like primento, garlic, chado beni, pumpkin and chives yum yum.

Holiday Foods

So we just celebrated Divali in November and Christmas is coming up, so what makes these holidays so special for us of course its the celebration of light overcoming darkness for the Hindu and Christian community but I think its' the food too. Divali is celebrated by the East Indian community, if you're not one you look forward to being invited by your friends and neighbors to eat. Other than the channa and aloe, there re other dishes like lapsi' which is a broken wheat, ghee with nuts, raisins and dried fruits. Other than 'mohanbhog' which is prepared just like parasad.

Then there is Christmas which has Spanish and English influences. We got pastelles and poncho de crème from the Spanish. I mentioned in a previous post that we got our baking and broiling methods from the British so that's how we end up baking our ham and turkey, even our popular fruit 'black' cake.