West Indian Recipes

The Origins of Black Cake (Caribbean Rum Fruit Cake) Black cake — or Caribbean rum fruit cake — isn’t just a dessert. It’s memory. It’s Christmas mornings, wedding tables, and that one aunt who guards her fruit jar like treasure....

  I thought to myself, if I only had time to share one recipe over the next two months, what would it be? This dish came to mind. Mummy made this occasionally to go with our Sunday lunch, which was...

Growing up in Trinidad, pumpkin talkari with dosti roti (a layered roti) was one of my absolute favorite meals. Strangely enough, it's also my 10-year-old daughter's favorite meal. In my recipe below, cubes of pumpkin are sautéed with the simplest...

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....

What Is Caribbean Green Seasoning? Caribbean green seasoning is a fresh herb blend used throughout the Caribbean as a marinade, flavor base, and natural seasoning for countless dishes. Made from herbs, garlic, peppers, and aromatics, green seasoning is one of...

Before we venture into a delivious recipe for Trinidad Coconut Bake, here is an update! In my absence, I have celebrated turning 39, which I realized, after much contemplation, isn't so bad after all. Nineteen years ago, I came to...

  A few months ago I noticed hibiscus tea being sold at Whole Foods and thought, how strange that teas are now being made using hibiscus flowers(the one commonly grown in yards all over TnT). I made a mental note...

Before moving on to the recipe of the day 'sweet rice', you should know that I intended to post many wonderful recipes for Diwali and Thanksgiving, but Hurricane 'Sandy' prevented me from doing so. Sandy the Super Storm We did...

What is Paratha Roti? What is Buss up shot /buss up shut roti? Paratha, also known as “buss up shut” is one of the various types of roti (leavened flatbread) ubiquitous in Trinidad, along with sada roti, dosti roti, dhalpuri...

Since I last posted, life has been full of flavor and excitement—business travel, a beach lime with my cousins (fried bake and shark, saltfish and tomatoes, fry bodi for breakfast, and curried duck with dhal and rice for lunch), my...