Aloo Choka is one of the several vegan chokas we enjoy in a Trinidadian diet.
In this easy recipe, potatoes, commonly known as aloo, are peeled, boiled until tender, and mashed with simple seasonings, including onion, garlic, hot pepper and culantro. To finish off the process, the dish is tempered with hot oil.
History of Aloo choka
Many of these simple West Indian recipes were brought to Trinidad and the Caribbean by the indentured workers who came to work in the sugar cane fields after the end of slavery. They adapted the ingredients based on the cost and availability of the ingredients. I have seen similar recipes on the internet from the Bihar region, India.
Ingredients you will need:
- potatoes, peeled, cubed – use russet or organic
- onion, thinly sliced- I use sweet onion
- garlic, minced
- culantro, finely chopped or minced-eliminate or use scallion or cilantro
- Hot pepper, to taste-habanero, scotch bonnet or wiri wiri- eliminate if you don’t like spice.
- extra virgin olive oil-or your favorite oil
What should I eat with Aloo Choka?
Aloo choka is traditionally eaten for breakfast or dinner with sada roti, the simplest roti in Trinidad.
Other chokas include tomato choka, baigan choka, eddoes choka, pepper choka (murtani) and zaboca (avocado) choka. Other non vegetarian chokas include sardine choka and fish choka.
You can find the full tutorial for this and four other vegetarian chokas in this video.
Aloo Choka
Ingredients
- 2 lbs potatoes peeled, cubed
- 1/4 onion thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 leaves culantro finely chopped or minced
- Hot pepper to taste
- 3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Begin by peeling the potatoes and cutting each one into 8 equal pieces. Place the potato pieces in a colander and rinse them thoroughly under running water. Allow them to drain.
- Take a medium-sized pot and fill it with water. Stir in 1 tablespoon of salt. Add the drained potato pieces to the pot and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Cook the potatoes until they become tender, approximately 20 minutes. Once done, drain the cooked potatoes and transfer them to a mixing bowl.
- Using a potato ricer or masher, mash the potatoes until the mixture is smooth, ensuring there are no remaining chunks. Season the mashed potatoes with onion, minced garlic, hot pepper, culantro, and salt to taste.
- In a small frying pan, heat some oil. Add one sliced clove of garlic (along with onion and hot pepper if desired) and cook until the edges turn brown. Pour this garlic-infused oil into the mashed and seasoned potatoes, and thoroughly mix everything together to combine the flavors.
Yummy