Happy New Year is in order –even though it’s the 16th –as this is my very first post of the New Year! I wanted to start on a sweet note, so today I am sharing my secret sweet bread recipe—developed and perfected during the past [continue reading]
WHAT IS TRINIDAD DOUBLES? Trinidad doubles is one of the most popular Caribbean street foods, made with two pieces of fried dough (bara), filled with tender, well-seasoned chickpeas (channa), and topped with condiments like tamarind sauce, pepper sauce, and chutneys. KEY ELEMENTS OF TRINIDAD DOUBLES [continue reading]
What are Pastelles? Pastelles are a popular favorite amongst Trinbagonians around Christmas time. I don’t know why we wait all year to make these (most likely the work involved). According to Wikipedia, it is believed that the pastelles were introduced by Spanish colonizers who ruled [continue reading]
Aloo pie is fried dough filled with savory mashed potatoes that’s seasoned simply with bandhania (culantro), cumin, onion and garlic. This snack (or meal) is right up there in popularity with doubles, saheena, pholourie,dhal pholourie, kachori and bake and shark. My fish pie and [continue reading]
Chicken Puffs: Pâte à choux, a light pastry dough, is filled with savory, flavorful chicken paste. It’s been a rough year thus far, and I expect the turbulence to continue for another twelve months. Corporate mergers and acquisitions, downsizing, increased workload, learning new systems, unrelenting deadlines, [continue reading]
Last father’s day, I prepared a feast for my hubbie. A feast which included these Caribbean pepper jerk shrimp. [Actual Menu.. In retrospect….what the heck was I smoking!!?? I must really like to cook!…..] I did not post pics or provide details of that [continue reading]
This is my best banana bread recipe—a moist, chewy, chocolate-chipped twist inspired by Trinidad gulgula. They’re practically twins—one fried, one baked—but both bursting with banana flavor, dense and moist inside, and beautifully chewy on the outside. There are no special ingredients here, just the perfect [continue reading]
Pholourie is another very popular snack food in Trinidad. It’s soft, chewy, fluffy, and savory, similar in texture to a fritter. Other popular snack foods include saheena, kachori, aloo pie, fish pie, shrimp pie, doubles, chow, chicken and cheese puffs. I vividly recall the parlour [continue reading]
A coconut “palette” (pronounced pah-lit in Trinidad) reminds me of childhood days in Trinidad. I grew up enjoying this home made coconut treat, which was usually wrapped in a very thin, parchment-like wrapper. Strangely, I could vividly remember the scent of the wrapping—even more than [continue reading]
Chow, in Trinidad and Tobaho, is a simple, refreshing combination of fresh fruits, garlic, and culantro-also known as bandhania or shado beni. Consider it a “spiced up” fruit salad. [Culantro, also known as bandania or shado beni] The desire for chow is linked [continue reading]
Hi! Born and raised in Trinidad and now living in New York, I’m passionate about preserving the traditional recipes that shaped my childhood while blending the rich flavors of the Caribbean into global favorites.