Egg-Aloo (potato) Curry Trinidad style

Eggs are a great source of protein, iodine and essential vitamins. Eggs are great "first food" for babies (as long as they are not allergic to them) as long as they are thoroughly cooked. Please avoid giving runny eggs or partly cooked eggs to under 2 yrs old. Boiled eggs were one of the first foods that I gave Anjalie and since then she loves eggs in any form or fashion. Once I was sure that she enjoyed eggs, and was not allergic to them (after the first couple of weeks), I have made this curry (very mild initially) and used to mash the egg yolks in a small amount of curry sauce and give her. Lo and behold! no matter when it was given she would clean it all up :) Since then, this has been a easy and quick "single dish" that every likes in our home. It can be eaten with rice or roti or bread. Not only, is it healthy, it is also relatively low in calories.

You will need:
4 large eggs/6 medium eggs - hard boiled and shell removed
4 medium potatoes - peeled and cubed into bite size pieces
2 med. tomatoes- chopped fine
1 med. onion - chopped fine
1/4 habernero pepper (for adults only- beware it is extremely hot!)/ pimento pepper for milder taste (optional) - leave out for children
3 cloves or garlic- crushed
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tbsp curry powder (any store bought kind will do- but for authentic Trinidad taste look for Chief curry powder)

Gooseberry pickle(s) Spicy South Indian style and Trinidadian style

One of the best things about living in Scotland (& I am sure many other parts of the world) is being surrounded by farms and the change in seasons bringing wonderful "seasonal" fruits and veggies fresh from the farm. Best of all, is having a pick your own farm nearby which allows us to go in for a visit and pick fresh farm produce ourselves and pay for them (usually works out cheaper) by weight. Such trips make an excellent day out for the entire family and little children usually enjoy running about and seeing how their favourite fruits and veggies grow. On one such visit recently, we picked some late strawberries and lots of goose berries. I am familiar with Indian goose berries (nellikkai in Tamil) and love them in any form or fashion. The sour variety (aru-nellikkai) in particular is my favourite. Goose berries are rich in Vitamin C and can help fight off infections. The Scottish ones did not look anything like the Indian counterpart. But it tasted quite similar to the aru-nellikkais I knew. In fact, I prefer the Scottish ones since they are more tender and the seeds (yes there are many- unlike the Indian ones) are edible too! So using them to make pickles is a lot easier since I do not have to bother about taking the seeds out. After a days trip enjoying our farm visit, we pickled the gooseberries in both Trinidadian and South-Indian styles. While, Naz & I have both our preferred versions (no points of guessing!), Anjalie liked both of them (seems to depend on her mood) and ever the diplomat she says she likes a little bit of both! We like our pickles spicy so I give the recipe for what I used. But if trying out pickles for the first time, I will suggest to, go a bit easy on the peppers.

Healthier variation of Trinidadian (fry) bake- baked not fried

We all have childhood favourite dishes that we love very much and associate with comfort food. Some times, unfortunately, they are not the healthiest things around. Trinidadian fry bake is Naz's childhood favourite. Anjalie really enjoys them too. Unfortunately, it involves frying the bread dough which, naturally, is not very healthy. I have been looking and experimenting for a recipe that involves baking them instead of frying and still be able to achieve the same soft texture. The trouble is that the same recipe cannot be used to bake. It involves using baking powder, so, baking the dough will result in biscuits. Secondly, I have previously tried yeast instead of baking powder, but, could not get the pocket in the centre which we get when the dough puffs up during frying. I finally figured out the perfect recipe that gives the replica of "fried" bake, i.e., it is soft and has a pocket in the middle to scoop up tomato choka or to put butter and cheese in. But this version is  just healthier having been baked in the oven instead of frying. It only requires very little oil/butter. When I finally served them today, both Naz & Anjalie could not believe that they were not fried. Naz kept on going about how it tastes really great! Just what I wanted to hear :D So, I guess, from now on Trinidad bakes are going to be one of the regular dishes in our home. Again, this goes to show that Healthy food choices does not necessarily mean missing out on our childhood favourites. So without further ado...here is the recipe.

You will need:
2.5 cups all purpose/plain flour (not bread flour)
1 tsp instant dried yeast yeast
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 to 1.5 cups lukewarm water (use as required)
1/2 tbsp oil/butter

Baingan da barta/Trinidadian Baigan choka/Kathirikai pachadi (Aubergine/Eggplant curry)

Like many children, Anjalie, also turned her nose up when we tried to give her aubergine for the first time. It took her some time to get used to the texture. We found she was more accepting of this spicy mashed curry made with aubergine. We first introduced this to her as a dip with rotis when she was around 7 months with reduced spice level and then slowly increased the spice level as she grew older. It is totally delicious and the full flavour of roasted aubergine is enhanced by the tangy tomatoes and complimented by the spices. This particular dish can be found in the cuisines from all over the world, including India, Trinidad, middle East, Greek, etc., and has many variations depending on the region. In Trinidad, at my in-laws house, this dish is typically eaten for breakfast with sada roti and is much loved. The Trinidadian version of this curry at my in-laws is made without involving any of the Indian spices and is spiced up with just fresh habernero peppers, yum! In my home in the south of India, we make this curry with plain yoghurt base which is another yummy variation of this versatile dish. This goes great with rotis, pitas, toasts, rice dishes, fresh veggies or anything that takes your fancy. Here are three variations of the recipe (Baingan bharta. Trinidad Baigan Choka and South Indian kathirikkai pachadi) and I hope you and your family get to enjoy this very soon.

You will need:
2 medium sized aubergine/egg plant
1 medium onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 inch ginger
2-3 medium tomatoes (peeled & mashed)
2 fresh green chillies for adults (optional) -slit in the middle
1/4 tsp mustard seeds (skip for children less than 1 year)
1/4 tsp cumin seeds (skip for children less than 1 year)
salt and black pepper to taste
coriander leaves &/or curry leaves for garnish
2 tsp oil

Spices (for Indian version):
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp clove powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp paprika or red chilli powder (for adults)
1 tsp butter/ghee
1 tsp lemon juice

Fish fillet stew (Trinidad style)

On Good Friday, my in-laws in Trinidad usually make Fish stew with dumplings, daal and root vegetables. So I just wanted to continue the tradition here too for Anjalie. Being a veggie forever I do not know if this is any different to other fish stews, but, this one is a recipe from my mum-in-law. This is pretty much fish cooked in tomato sauce. My mum-in-law makes this with pieces of fish, but, I prefer to use fish fillets for ease and, with the skin & bones removed, I will not have to worry about giving it to Anjalie. I use either haddock or cod fillets since they are readily available here. Naz usually enjoys this stew with dumplings, but, Anjalie prefers to eat it boiled rice.

You will need:

1-2 fish med fillets (I used haddock this time)

1 stalk green/salad onion both white & green parts chopped

3 cloves garlic & 1/2 inch ginger (optional) grated

1 lemon

1 small/ 1/4 med sized onion chopped

2 tomatoes, diced

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 tsp thyme, chopped

1 dash parsley

salt and black pepper to taste

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp oil

150 ml water (more or less)

1-2 small pieces of habanero pepper /fresh chillies (optional & only for adults - beware hot)

Trinidadian Doubles (home-made)

Trinidad doubles is a delicious street food from Trinidad and Tobago. It is totally delectable sandwich made from fried dough, called Bara, with curried chickpeas filling. It is usually topped with variety of chutneys such as mango, tamarind and cucumber chutneys etc. It is usually served with hot pepper sauce made from Habernero/Scotch Bonnet peppers and the amount can be varied according to your taste. In Trinidad they use "bun danya/Mexican coriander" which is used for garnishing much like the Indian coriander. See here for more info on this plant.

Doubles is usually eaten for breakfast in Trinidad, but, some times it is eaten as evening snack as well. It is the first Trinidad food that I fell in love with. I enjoy it so much that whenever we go to visit our family there they always make sure and have it for me everyday :) Click here for a video of a vendor selling doubles in Trinidad streets on Youtube (FYI).

Sweet pepper macaroni and cheese/ macaroni pie

Macaroni and cheese or Macaroni pie in some parts of the world is a quick family dinner that everyone is bound to enjoy together. In Trinidad and Tobago, however, it is treated as a side dish and Naz usually likes to have it with red beans and rice during the weekends. Children often tend/want to eat the same food, they like, over a few days. Tonight, Anjalie insisted on wanting "white" pasta (cheesy pasta) again! So to cater to both of their desires, I modified the cheesy pasta into a Macaroni and cheese for Naz. Since we all enjoy Mexicano cheese, I used it and it does have a slight "spicy" taste. But you can use any cheese of your choice.

You will need:

250 grams dried macaroni pasta or pasta of your choice (I did use Fusilli since it is Anjalie's favorite)

4 tbsp of plain flour

1 tbsp butter/olive oil + for greasing

salt and white pepper to taste

100 grams of grated hard cheese of your choice

1 egg (optional)

1/4 cup sweet bell peppers (mixed colors)

2 cloves of garlic crushed

1/2 tsp oregano

500 ml whole milk/cream 

2 tbsps milk (optional)

Roomali roti/Trinidadian Dosti roti

The Roomali/rumali roti is yet another flat bread recipe. It is incredibly thin, yet, soft roti and literally translates to handkerchief bread. It is very popular bread in the North of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and the Caribbean (including Trinidad). In Trinidad it is called dosti roti which translates to friendship bread. Like all their flat breads Trinidadians make this roti as well using plain/all purpose flour. In the Indian subcontinent these bread are made with a combination of wholemeal and refined wheat flours. Since refined flour has more gluten than wholemeal flour it is used in this bread to help stretch the bread as thin as possible and still maintain it's softness. The proportion of wholemeal to refined flour used depends on the region and varies from household to household. This roti is bound to be popular with the entire family since it is soft and thin and just melts in your mouth. You may need a large skillet/tawa or you can even cook them the traditional way on the inverted Indian griddle (kadai). The recipe instruction given here makes 10 big rotis. But you can divide the dough to make 16-20 medium/small sized rotis using regular skillet.

You will need:
2 cups of wholemeal wheat flour/atta
1 cup plain/all purpose flour
salt to taste
water to knead into soft dough (360 ml more or less)
Cooking oil for greasing and rolling (approximately 1/4 cup)

Trinidadian Dhal Puri/ Indian Dal paratha

Keeping to the Trinidadian food theme I thought I will post about another family favorite. In Trinidad it is called "Dhal Puri" and is made during celebrations at home (for festivals or weddings). In Trinidad, like most of their flat bread, this "roti" (despite being called Puri) is made with plain/all purpose flour. In India, this very same dish is made with atta (wholemeal flour) and is called "Dal paratha". Other than the difference in names and flours there are small differences in spices and herbs used which, I think, is mainly due to what is locally available. This dish is Naz's favorite and I make it for him as often as I can. It is labor intensive, but, well worth the effort and can be frozen (hurrah!). This is Anjalie's favorite roti as well and she calls it "lellow roti" due to the yellow dal filling :) Whenever I do make these, I make a whole bunch and freeze them (semi-cooked) for later use. In Trinidad, Dhal puris are made into very large sizes to form a wrap, unlike, the Indian Dal parathas which are made to the typical 6-8 inch rotis. Naz usually eats them as a wrap with semi-dry curry filling and they are handy when travelling or for lunch boxes. The recipe I give here is for the Trinidadian Dhal puris, but, you can replace the plain flour with wholemeal flour if you prefer to make the healthier Dal parathas instead. This recipe will make 6 big size dal puri wraps.

You will need:
For dal filling:
1/2 lb (1 cup) channa dal/yellow split peas
1 clove of garlic crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
salt to taste
1/2 tsp turmeric power.
For the dough:
1.5 lb or 4 and 1/2 cups of flour
salt to taste
1/2 tsp baking powder
water to mix a smooth dough

Oil for greasing

Trinidadian Kurma (Sweet delicacy)

All three of us here in our family do not have much of a sweet tooth. The only time we ever crave anything sweet is when it has been a really long time since we visited our home town. Once we have exhausted our craving for all the savories that our native places have to offer we turn our attention to sweet delicacies. On one such day, last week, Naz asked me to make some Trinidadian kurma. Trinidadian kurma is deep fried dough covered in sugar and not to be confused with the mildly-spicy Indian curry or the second avatar of Lord Vishnu. The only thing they all have in common is the name "kurma". There are at least 3 kinds of sweet made of deep fried dough covered in sugar attributed to Trinidadian cuisine: thin kurma, soft kurma and gulab jamoon. All three are made from fried dough and covered in sugar syrup except they vary in the ratios of flour, butter & milk and also in their shaping. During the time I spent in Trinidad, with my in-laws, I have learnt that soft kurmas are served during weddings, the thin kurmas are more or less made for everyday snacking and gulab jamoons (not the Indian syrupy kind) are made for special occasions. If this is wrong please feel free to correct me!

Aloo Paratha/Potato flat bread/ Trinidadian Aloo prui

This is another easy home-made bread recipe that children can help with. The recipe can be adjusted easily to fit your family's taste buds and this bread is easy for travelling or lunch packs. By now Anjalie is very good at peeling onions and garlic and also at rolling out rotis. So I thought it will be a good idea to move on to peeling potatoes next. So we made aloo paratha for the weekend. Like I said earlier the children will have a great time "helping" with the potatoes. This traditional Indian dish is made with wholemeal wheat flour. However, the exact same dish is made with habernero peppers instead of green chillies in Trinidad with plain flour/maida and is called Aloo puri. You can use either of these flours, although, I tend to choose the wholemeal flour for it being the healthier alternative.

You will need 

4 medium size potatoes, boiled & peeled.
coriander/cilantro leaves - a handful
ground cumin- 1/2 tsp
salt and pepper to tatse
fresh green chillies finely chopped - to taste (optional)
Whole wheat flour/chapatti flour - 2 cups
Water to make dough

Trinidadian Pholourie

Pholourie is very popular in the Caribbean and the first time I tasted it I fell in love with it. It is crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and pretty much melts in the mouth. I had to learn the recipe immediately. This is one of the recipes I got from my MIL and is a original Trinidadian version. For Anjalie we serve this with ketchup or cucumber raita (see recipe in veggie fritters). We adults tend to enjoy this with tamarind chutney (recipe to follow soon), hot pepper sauce and bun dhaniya (similar to coriander/cilantro).

You will need:
1 cup ground split peas/Besan
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup all-purpose/plain flour/maida
salt and black pepper to taste
1 1/3 cups water (use more or less to make thick batter)
oil for deep frying

Fry bake/poori with tomato choka (sauce)

This recipe is an adaptation from both Trinidad (where Naz is from) and India (where I am from). The only difference is that Fry-bake from Trinidad requires all purpose flour and pooris from India requires whole-wheat flour. It is easy to make and really great for the entire family to enjoy. I tend to make more pooris than fry-bake mainly because whole-wheat flour is more healthy and filling than refined flour. Anjalie who loves to make and eat any type of roti loves this one and hence this one features at least once a week in our kitchen menu. If Anjalie and her friends are anything to go by, these is sure to be children's favorite. It is crispy and crunchy but soft and deep fried...need I say more?

Rice, Daal and mild curried chicken or tofu or soya chunks

I am originally from Chennai, India and my husband is from Trinidad in the Caribbean. So rice, daal and curry is an important (& regular) part of our diet. Here is a version that our toddler enjoys very much. This recipe is again very forgiving and you can modify as per your taste. Since this needs a lot of effort, I make a large portion and freeze them in small bowls to use when needed.

You will need:
1 breast of chicken or a packet of firm tofu or soya chunks (1 cup)
1/2 cup cooked rice
1 knob of butter
For Daal I use a mix of yellow pigeon peas, yellow lentils and split peas - 1/4 cup each
Madras curry powder (mild) 1 tbsp (and a 1 tsp  to marinate): Any brand from the grocery will do.
onion 1/4 chopped finely
1 tomato finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic crushed
1 stalk of green onion finely chopped
1 stalk of celery finely chopped
garlic
1/8 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cumin
salt and black pepper to taste.
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp oil
1tsp coriander leaves chopped finely