A Roti called DHAL PURI

In Guyana, as in Trinidad & Tobago, there are a variety of roti(s) and the other popular roti is called Dhal Puri - a roti dough stuffed with seasoned split peas. And that is the topic of this week's column. The dhal puri can be eaten as is or with curry as it's often done. Like our paratha roti, the dhal puri is held up to a very high standard in terms of one's ability to make it. Click here to read more.

I continue to perfect my dhal puri-making and it's a pleasure to share with you how I make it. Click here for a slide demo. Please do not hesitate to email me and I'll send you the recipe.

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A Present

No, I did not bake this cake, rather it was a present :) I can't believe I am saying this... I guess not being face to face with people makes you do and say things that you would normally never do. So here goes - the cake is a present because today is my _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . You fill in the blank. A cousin of mine currently visiting turned up at my home yesterday with this delicious present so I thought that instead of showcasing something that I made, I'd share with you a piece of my _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ cake. He baked and frosted it himself, I think that deep down inside, he is a little foodie just like me :) Thank you Yohann!

So, enjoy!

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Mettagee

This week's column features yet another national dish of Guyana, Mettagee or Mettem. At first I thought that the word was of Amerindian heritage but it is not, the jury is still out on the origin of the word.

Mettagee is thought to have been Portuguese in its origin something they prepared while on the boats from Portugal to Guyana - a one pot dish made with coconut milk but certainly far removed from what we prepare today. As with everything, food changes as we move from one place to another and adapt. However, though believed to be Portuguese in origin, Mettagee is often considered to be an Afro-Guyanese dish.



Root Vegetables or Ground Provisions as we call them grow abundantly here in the Caribbean and we make a variety of dishes with them. Cassava (tapioca), eddoes (taro root), sweet potatoes, yams, tannia can all be had in these parts.

The dish featured here is a true celebration of these root vegetables that are united with plantains, green and ripe, okras, dumplings and cooked with fresh coconut milk. It is traditionally served with salt fish or fried fish.



Versions of this dish are made in other Caribbean countries as well, in Jamaica it's Rundown, in Grenada, St. Vincent & The Grenadines and Trinidad & Tobago, it's known as Oildown.

I encourage you to try making this dish. You will absolutely love it.

To read more in the column, click here.
For the recipe, please email me.
Click here and find out how the dish was enjoyed.

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A Cookie & A Coffee Cake

The baking continues...

While doing my daily blog browsing, commenting etc. I came across two blogs with recipes that I thought I'd like to try. The first one was a cookie. The reason I wanted to try it was because it was so simple and the ingredients were in my pantry. The second one, I was attracted to it just by the look of it, I liked the crumbly topping and the purple colour of the fresh cherries embedded in it.

The Peanut butter and jelly cookies, I found at Cooking with Amy. I followed her recipe which can be found here. The only difference was that I used guava jam instead of strawberry jam.



The cookies were peanut-ty rich and great for dipping into milk. If you are a cookie-lover or if peanut butter is your thing, or if you like PB & J (peanut butter & jelly) sandwiches, then this is the cookie for you.

Just as easy to make was Helen's Cherry & Coconut Cake. Here is the recipe. A couple of things to note. Helen used fresh cherries, I used frozen strawberries. As a result, the strawberries lost all of its colour in the baking process, there were little pockets of lilac-colour where the fruit lay. The recipe calls for half teaspoon ground ginger but I used one teaspoon of freshly-grated-ginger. When I make this cake again, I will definitely use fresh fruit instead of frozen I think it will stand up more to the long cooking process and still maintain elements of its originality.



What I loved about this cake was the crusty topping, that shattered into bits as you cut into it. I have to unashamedly admit that I ate more of the topping than the cake itself. The fresh ginger in it came alive just as you swallowed and the cake was lovingly tender, the lemon zest gave it a fresh light taste with the bits of coconut gently announcing itself.

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Rice, Peas & the Prize

Vegetarians be warned, this is a meat post :) but please do not let it prevent you from commenting or asking a question. Email me for a vegetarian version of this dish.



Rice and peas and peas and rice are not the same as the Guyanese Cook-up rice or the Trini pelau. In Barbados, rice and peas refers to cooked pigeon peas (dried, fresh or canned) with rice and flavoured with a piece of salt meat, pigtail to be exact. In other parts of the Caribbean this combination is also known as peas and rice and the peas/beans used to identify the dish are different in a variety of islands. For example, peas and rice in Jamaica is red kidney beans cooked with rice. In the Eastern Caribbean islands stewed peas served with steamed rice is what is known as peas and rice.

Salt meat is self explanatory, it is meat that has been cured with salt (think bacon). Pigtail is a very popular salt meat in this region and Barbados is known for its pigtail or tails as they are fondly called :) Because the meat is salted, it is used when making rice and peas to season the entire dish and impart some flavour. To read more, click here.

• For an entertaining take on how our tastes change, adjust and adapt, click here.
• For this week's column, click here.
• For the recipe of this dish Email me

Barbequed pigtails

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Baked Eggs

Okay, stop drooling now :)

I am not going to bore you all with info like: eggs are so versatile, they are essential to many things that we cook; what would cooking be without them or the fact that top chefs are now making gourmet egg dishes and giving this humble ingredient the respect and honour it deserves. Rather, I am just going to tell you simply that instead of boiled or scrambled, I thought I'd try having my breakfast of eggs, baked.



These were so good, so simple to make and I am beginning to feel that for a long, long time, this is how I am going to have eggs whenever I feel like having them (at least for breakfast or brunch).

Here's what you need

Baked Eggs
2 eggs (or 3 egg whites)
1 1/2 tbsp finely diced tomatoes
1 1/2 tbsp finely chopped green onions (white & green parts)
2 tsp oil
Salt and pepper to taste
A pat of butter or margarine

Equipment
1 small saute pan
1 small oven-proof baking dish
1 baking sheet

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
2. Heat oil in pan, add onions and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and saute for 1 - 2 mins
3. Turn off heat and set aside the pan
4. Rub the pat of butter all over the inside of the baking dish
5. Crack one egg into the dish
6. Season with salt and pepper
7. Add sauteed onions and tomatoes
8. Crack the other egg into the dish
9. Season again with salt and pepper
10. Place the dish onto a baking sheet
11. Slide into oven
12. Bake for 15 mins if made with egg whites
13. Bake for 20 mins if made with whole eggs

Serve with toast or whatever you like to have your eggs with.

I am submitting this as my entry to WBB #12 hosted this month by the patient, kind and beautiful, Trupti of The Spice Who Loved Me.

Icon courtesy of Nandita of Saffron Trail

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Banana-Nut Muffins

Since I started blogging, I've not been baking as often as I would like to. Partly this is because I'm guided by whatever the subject of my weekly column is, and also partly because baking needs a lot more attention. It has special needs and is often exacting - in the measuring of ingredients, minutes to mix, beat, whip, knead or fold, and in the temperatures and times it takes to cook.

However, the end result, once all the pampering is done, cannot be beaten - the risen bread, brown and crusty, the cake moist and golden, the muffins, perfect little mounds of deliciousness...

I love to bake. As I said, it's exacting and demanding, but it is exactly for those reasons that baking gives me a bigger high. Don't get me wrong, I love the adventure that cooking brings - doing so by intuition, experimenting, risking flavour combos etc.

I am getting back to my baking, I am going to make time for my baking; for too long it has been neglected. So every now and then you will see me sharing with you a baked good. Today, it is banana-nut muffins, the recipe can be found here.

These muffins were rich and moist. I particularly enjoyed the added textural feel that came from the bananas that were simply mashed with the fork. (You'll understand further when you read the recipe).



I enjoyed my muffin with a cup of tea.



Today's column can be read here.

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Green Tomatoes

Last weekend when I went to the market, there were not many ripe tomatoes but lots of green tomatoes and many that were now turning ripe, you know, when they are at that orange-coloured stage. As I gazed at the green tomatoes, my thoughts turned to Kathy Bates and her great performance in the movie, Fried Green Tomatoes. I've often been curious as to what they taste like so I bought some, headed home and started looking for a recipe. I like this guy and thought I'd use his recipe, afterall, he is from the South.

Then I had about 3 small tomatoes remaining, so I diced them up, dressed them with some kosher salt, hot red chilies, a pinch of sugar and cilantro. Mixed it all together and I had a sort of pickle.

Want to know more about this beautiful icon that is so appropriate for this post because it is about tomatoes? Then click here and let Alanna of A Veggie Venture tell you more about it.

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Things on the side

Clockwise: green mango chutney, achaar, hummus, pesto, mango sour, hot pepper sauce

This week's column is all about those little spoonfuls, okay for some of us it's heaping spoons full of that tart, sweet, sour, salty, or smokey can't-eat-my-food-without-it goodness. In a word, loosely described as condiments. It's the little something that makes your meal special, more tasty, more flavourful.

Some people also describe them as pickles, preserves, chutneys, dips, sauces, salsas etc depending on which part of the world you are from.

Scotch bonnet pepper sauce

Many of these things are great also on sandwiches as spreads, as accompaniments to various cooked seafood and meats or just with some plain rice and of course, roti. Experiment with the flavours and various combinations, you'll be glad you did.

Basil pesto

I've posted recipes for these condiments in other posts and many are also available online but if you'd like mine, send me an email.

Read the column here and click here to read and comment about The Craziness and Creativity of Foodies.

Mango achaar

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