Eid-Ul-Fitr will be observed in Trinidad & Tobago with a public holiday on September 10th (date subject to change). Like most religious holidays in Trinidad it is marked not just by strong community observance but also with warm interfaith participation. Because so many communities share this small space of land it is not unusual to have many religions represented on one street and neighbours at the end of the day are still neighbours. This year I haven’t been able to accept any of the Eid invitations I’ve received but that doesn’t mean I won’t be there in culinary spirit Below is my own quirky spread, but don’t stop there, do check out Chennette‘s wonderful Eid food Flickr Set

Trinidad Phoulorie
Spicy Tomato Soup
Moroccan Chicken Over Couscous
Green Bean Bhaji
Carrot Halvahs

To my Muslim friends and readers out there, Eid Mubarak

For more information visit the Eid Portal on the National Library Service’s website.

2. Ultimate Curry Chicken – video

Few chicken recipes are as embedded into a Trinidadian’s culinary psyche as curry chicken. In the following video Chef DEX (not connected to TriniGourmet!) offers an entertaining and informative approach to his “Ultimate Curry Chicken” dish. Watch and become a pro as you follow his very spirited step-by-step guide to preparing this local specialty in your home! 3. Jamaican Fricassee Chicken (recipe)
Jamaican fricassee chicken is one of my mother’s favorite dishes. The end result looks quite similar to Trinidad Stewed Chicken (something I should post soon!) but the taste is quite different due to the sweet peppers and the lack of sugar browning (a technique my mother says she never knew before moving to Trinidad). 4. Quick Coconut Chicken Pelau (recipe)
A good pelau is a work of art and this version is a quicker truncated version of the classic recipe that retains the authenticity and method of preparation. However, if time and inclination permit, I highly recommend that you prepare this recipe in the more lengthy time-honored manner embodied by my father’s recipe Bertie’s Trinidad Pelau (see #9) 5. Bertie’s Trinidad Pelau (recipe)
Now my father is a man with a very narrow cooking repertoire, but what he does do he does well. You’ve already experienced his truly excellent pepper sauce, so why not give this one a try? This recipe is his as he gave it to me when I moved off to college 6. Trinidad Chicken Chow Mein (recipe)
Chicken chow mein is a perennial fave of mine, especially with PLENTY of soy sauce 7. Kung Pao Chicken (recipe)
A very simple fiery and flavourful chicken dish that comes together quickly. The most unexpected part of the flavour medley is the candy-like sweetness of the fried (until charred) sweet peppers. 8. Coconut Chicken Curry (recipe)
I love recipes that come together in a flash with minimal prep and cleanup. This is one of those recipes and it was delicious! 9. Festive Chicken Fried Rice (recipe)
What do you do when your pantry is nearing critical shortages and you only have a little bit of chicken in the fridge? Cook up a quick, filling, and EXTREMELY tasty fried rice! The mushrooms, chicken, and rice can all be prepared the night before or in advance to speed things along. It goes together -very- quickly and is a favorite in my home! 10. Sarina’s Savoury Peanut Chicken (recipe)
This recipe is a crunchy and surprisingly savoury delight. Contrary to my expectations the peanut flavour was quite muted as was the mint and mustard, in fact none of the flavours particularly stood out. Instead they formed a harmonious backdrop, enhancing the chicken without overpowering it.

Transcription: Pepper pot soup as served at the Barbados Hilton (photo/William Alleyne)

The “Hilton Barbados” Today (is any form of the above elaborate pepperpot display still in existence? )

p.s. Is it just me or does the Caribbean map in the above video depict Tobago as located below Trinidad?!

As promised, I am currently cooking my way through a 1969 Food issue of Caribbean Beachcomber. For much of this year I have been privately delving into older cookbooks, both West Indian in nature, as well as International. In many ways I have found that they have increased my love of cooking and my understanding of ingredients more than many contemporary publications. Many of the combinations and recipes have fallen out of vogue, and may seem odd, or unappetizing at a first glance. However by recreating many of them I have felt as though I have my own private time machine and, believe it or not, so far I have not had any flops!

This recipe was particularly pleasurable to serve as it had everyone scratching their heads trying to figure out what the main ‘secret’ ingredient was. The below recipe calls for recipe, but as I had none on hand I went with what I did have, cassava. The brilliance of the recipe is it takes many of the main components of an oil-down but recomposes them into the form of a cool Vichysoisse Soup. The flavour is instantly recognizable, however because the style of presentation is so unexpected, no one puts 2 and 2 together. When all is revealed the look of shock is inevitably followed with “This is cassava? But… But.. Wow!”

I have included the original recipe below for those who want to see it, but have also included my own slight modifications. Although the recipe didn’t call for it, I decided to create some croutons from an end of homemade French Bread that was ‘suffering’ in the freezer. Pan-fried in butter and thyme, I believe they created the perfect round-off.

Serve and enjoy

Vichysoisse Creole (d)
SERVINGS: 6
SOURCE: Caribbean Beachcomber

INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons butter
2 medium onions, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 lb. breadfruit, diced (or cassava as I used in this case)
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup light cream
salt and pepper to taste
chopped chives

METHOD:

1. Sauté onions and garlic in butter until wilted.
2. Add diced breadfruit, vegetable stock and cook until breadfruit is easily pierced with a fork.

3. Let cool, then pureé in an electric blender, adding cream slowly while blending.

4. If the soup is too thick, thin to taste with milk.
5. Season with salt and pepper and serve icy cold, topped with chives.

Original Recipe (click thumbnail to enlarge):

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Rumona liqueur is still very much in production. Unfortunately, I was not able to learn too much more about the history of this product online. If anyone wants to share some info with me I’d really appreciate it! With over 200 years of production now I think they have a lot to be proud of! Especially if the taste is as good as the few reviews that I could find stated.

• Rumona Rum Liqueur (Art of Drink)
• Rumona (CocktailDB|The Internet Cocktail Database)

Does anyone know where I can get a bottle locally?

Advertising Text:

Rumona

The Delightfully Different Liqueur

Each year a quantity of fine Jamaica Rum is set aside for this special product. From this reserve, Wray & Nephew’s ‘Rumona’, original Liqueur made with rum, has been blended with meticulous care and the craftmanship of more than 140 years of experience by

J.WRAY & NEPHEW LTD.
Kingston, Jamaica

AVAILABLE THROUGHOUT THE WEST INDIES

This year the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana begins at sundown on September 8.

Normally at Rosh Hashana I have a rather fixed menu, sneaking in one or two new dishes for variety. Last year however I decided to shake things up, discarding my customary Coconut-Raisin Challah with an Apple Honey one that I discovered online. Well, I loved that recipe so much I have decided to use it again! It’s much too rich for my own regular usage, but for the New Year it’s just right!

Apple Honey Challah
Butternut Bisque with Cauliflower
Baked Fish Provencal Style (recipe coming soon)
Calypso Rice
Banana-Apple Crisp

I wish everyone who celebrates a happy and safe New Year with much joy and prosperity following in the year to come!

Boomers, a local chain of sub shops has a killer tuna sandwich! They were the first to bring out sauces with distinctly local flavours such as garlic and chadon beni. Subway has since followed…

It’s the start of another month, and with that comes the posting of my monthly roundup of those items that you all have been clicking (and purchasing) this month. Ramin Ganeshram’s ode to local cuisine “Sweet Hands” which dipped out of the top spot last month is back on top, due in no small part to its affordable reissue!

Some new entries this month have taken me aback as I can not account for their sudden rise in popularity, most notably the Oscar winning film Chocolat starring Juliet Binoche and Johnny Depp. A longtime favourite of mine, I’m glad to see it making its Hotlist debut! Also popping in for the first time is Bryant Terry’s Soul Kitchen. I first wrote about Bryant Terry in February 2009. Better late than never for his most recent publication to gain mass traction here BTW, if you’re on Twitter you can follow him @bryantterry.

Now on to the countdown!

*note: Hover your mouse over each title for more details!

	1. Sweet Hands: Island Cooking from Trinidad and Tobago Description: Callalloo and Buss Up Shut, Mother-in-Law And Kuchela, Chip Chip and Doubles. The verbiage of Trinidad’s cuisine is both lyrical and mysterious. The variety of foods from this Caribbean nation and their fanciful names tell the story of a rich and eclectic cultural heritage. For this and other Caribbean Cookbooks check out the Caribbean section of my Veni Mangé Amazon Store!
	2. The Sephardic Table: The Vibrant Cooking of the Mediterranean Jews Description: From Morocco and Italy east to Iran and India, Sephardic cooking is a rich blend of herbs and spices, of sweet and savory flavors. Hummus, stuffed grape leaves, and pilafs made with rice or bulgur are a few Sephardic dishes you may recognize. For this and other Kosher Cookbooks check out the Jewish Cuisine section of my Veni Mangé Amazon Store!
	3. The Ayurvedic Cookbook Description: The Ayurvedic Cookbook gives a fresh new perspective on this ancient art ofself-healing. Over 250 taste-tested recipes are specifically designed to balance each constitution, with an emphasis on simplicity, ease and sound nutrition. For this and other Vegetarian cookbooks check out the Vegetarian/Vegan section of my Veni Mangé Amazon Store!
	4. Baking: From My Home to Yours – Dorie Greenspan
	5. Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine – Bryant Terry
	6. Caribbean Cookbook: A Lifetime of Recipes – Rita Springer
	7. Corelle Hearthstone Stoneware Square 16-Piece Dinnerware Set, Service for 4
	8. Chocolat (Miramax Collector’s Series)
	9. Jewish Cooking in America: Expanded Edition (Knopf Cooks American)
	10. Julia Child – The French Chef

If, like me, you were a TTT baby (i.e. you grew up only knowing one channel that signed off at noon, and signed back at 2:30 p.m. with the call of “Caribbean Vibration”) then you probably also remember government promos touting the benefits of the mysterious locally-designed ‘Buffalypso’. Part Water Buffalo and part uh… Calypso? this breed, national dispatches said, would fill a gap in local domestic meat supplies. Full of wonderous characteristics it would provide nutritional value for consumers and sustainable profits for farmers. It all sounded well and good… except that the influx never took place.

To date I have never seen buffalypso on sale in the meat section.

Have you?

Trek to the Eastern coasts of Trinidad and you’ll see herders of water buffalo languidly moving along the shore. Cattle that one is sure is being bred for sale. But to whom? And where?

Where oh where have the Buffalypso gone?

Maybe to understand that question we need to first take a look at how the buffalypso emerged onto the shores of Trinidad…

The Buffalypso breed was developed through a selective breeding program by veterinarian Steve Bennett in Trinidad.

A selection and improvement programme for a meat type animal began in 1950 with a breeding programme designed to straighten the top line and broaden the loin and rump.

By 1964 Dr. Steve Bennet was satisfied that the animals in the meat improvement programme had changed sufficiently to warrant a new name. Buffalypso therefore was coined from Buffalo and Calypso the indigenous music of Trinidad and Tobago.

Buffalypso were bred from the following riverine breeds of the Indian sub-continent: Murrah, Jafarabadi, Nili-Ravi, Surti, and Nagpuri. They are docile domesticated livestock that are useful for milk, meat, and draft.

From the Ministry of Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs:

Taste tests conducted by the St. Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies showed that buffalypso meat rated higher in terms of acceptability for colour, taste, texture and fat content than comparative prime cuts of beef.

THE FUTURE

The buffalypso represents a “genetic goldmine” for Trinidad and Tobago which is free of the major livestock diseases that can limit international trade.

During the past 26 years Trinidad and Tobago has exported a significant amount of buffalypso breeding stock to Barbados, Belize, Cayenne, Cuba, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Suriname, The United States of America and Venezuela.

Efforts are currently underway in Trinidad and Tobago to more fully exploit the meat and milk producing potential of these animals.

THE MILK

Water buffalo milk is white and has a much higher butterfat and total solids content than cow’s milk. Buffalo milk is used almost exclusively for making mozzarella cheese in Italy, while the South Americans produce “Queso Blanco” and “Queso de Mano”

Recent newspaper articles have suggested that more governmental attention is going to be paid to developing buffalypso as a domestic product, both for its meat and its milk. However, I’ve been hearing this for decades. What do you think? (If you are not a vegetarian), would you eat buffalypso? Have you already?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

In closing, I leave you a video clip of “After Half-Past Nine” a classic track (c. 1989) from one of my local favourite groups jointpop. I’ve picked this video as it is one of the only clips I can think of that features footage of the herds of water buffalo that can be seen on the East Coast.

TOP 5 BEEF RECIPES (that could easily utilise Buffalypso) ON TRINIGOURMET

	1. Trinidad Beef Pastelles (recipe) One of Trinidad’s seasonal delights, pastelles are a steamed cornmeal pie wrapped in banana leaves and filled with stewed meat, olives, and raisins.
	2. Trinidad Stew Beef with Herbed Dumplings (recipe) This recipe exemplifies the multicultural fusion nature of Trinidadian cooking. From the African influence of initially caramelizing the meat, to the European addition of beer, to the presence of Asian soy sauce
	3. Tyler’s Texas Chili (recipe) This hearty chili combines beef chuck with Mexican chocolate. An unexpected yet traditional combination. For kosher adherents, make sure to use pareve chocolate or to replace the meat with a ground soy substitute
	4. Ants In A Tree (recipe) Much like Trinidad Singapore has been a melting pot of cultures, and these influences are reflected in the local cuisine. This particular dish, Ants in a Tree, gets its name cos the ground meat separates to resemble ants, against the cellophane noodles.
	5. Eggplant Ragout with Tomatoes, Peppers and Ground Beef (recipe) This dish is redolent with the flavours of the Middle East and is a personal favourite of mine.

And, if you want even more ideas. Here are 4 Beef Intensive Cookbooks, picked for your enjoyment

	1. The Healthy Beef Cookbook: Steaks, Salads, Stir-fry, and More – Over 130 Luscious Lean Beef Recipes for Every Occasion Brought to you by the American Dietetic Association and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, supported by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, The Healthy Beef Cookbook shows health-conscious cooks exciting new ways to use lean beef in everything from quick and easy suppers to special occasion entrées. From great grilling recipes and sensational salads to hearty sandwiches, soups, stews, and one-dish meals, this full-color cookbook shows you special preparation and cooking techniques to create tender, moist, flavorful dishes every time.
	2. The Ultimate Ground Beef Cookbook
	3. Williams-Sonoma Mastering: Beef & Veal: made easy with step-by-step photographs Williams-Sonoma Mastering Beef & Veal is a complete cooking course in single volume. The opening describes the different cuts of beef and veal, how to buy them, and how to trim them. You will also learn how to cook, season, and serve beef and veal, from readying your mise en place to expertly carving a bone-in roast.
	4. Jerky: Make Your Own Delicious Jerky and Jerky Dishes Using Beef, Venison, Fish, or Fowl A guide to making the popular high-protein, low-fat dried meat snack.

	1. Eggplant Ragout with Tomatoes, Peppers and Ground Beef (recipe) This dish is redolent with the flavours of the Middle East and is a personal favourite of mine.
	2. Fried Eggplant (recipe) Slivers of seasoned eggplant (or melongene as it is more commonly called here in Trinidad) are floured and breaded before being pan fried. The results are a light flavourful crust with a warm molten center. If you are not traditionally a fan of eggplants, this may be just the thing to turn you into a convert!
	3. Eggplant Cutlets – Cotolette de Melanzane (recipe) Like many of the Mario Batali dishes that I have tried, this recipe provides rich flavour and a satisfying contrast in textures, through what appears as relatively few ingredients.
	4. Stuffed Melongene (recipe) Creamy, buttery, chewy on the outside from the charred skin, and sweet on top from the ketchup this, my mother’s recipe to me, is close to the ultimate comfort food
	5. Arabian Vegetable Medley (recipe) Coming from the American Turkey Federation I’m not sure exactly how ‘Arabian’ this recipe actually is, but despite that grey area all you really need to know is that it is good!

5 Eggplant Recipes from my favourite Food Blogs!

1. Eggplant Panini with Spinach Salad (yumsugar) 2. Eggplant Bruschetta(vegalicious) 3. Spicy Sesame Eggplant (meet me in the kitchen) 4. Baingan Ka Bharta (Smoky spiced eggplant) (jugalbandi) 5. Garlicky Roasted Beets, Leeks and Eggplant (sarah’s cucina bella)

And, if you want even more ideas. Here are 10 Eggplant rich Cookbooks, picked for your enjoyment

I’ve been dreaming of mango lassi for some time now. Mango lassi was something I first discovered during my college years in the US and I haven’t had it since returning to Trinidad seven years ago. This rich cool, slightly tart, beverage is the perfect complement to spicy, fiery cuisines and is also hearty (and healthy) enough to be a satisfying shake all on its own.

When our mango bounty began to wind down in October I thought I would use some over-ripe fruits that we had on hand to try making this nostalgic treat for myself. I combined and tweaked several online recipes until I came up with a combination that reminded me of the ones I had ‘back in the day’.

This post was originally published October 7, 2007.

Sarina’s Mango Lassi
Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped mango (peeled and stone removed)
4 teaspoons sugar
1/3 cup cold water
9-10 ice cubes

1. Blend all ingredients until well-combined