Crab and Callaloo

Crab and Callaloo 

Hi folks hope you having a wonderful Emancipation holiday. Today I thought I would quickly show you how I make an all time favourite Trini cuisine. My dad loves to have this with Basmati rice however, many people make dumplings to accompany this dish. I would suggest you make whole wheat dumplings which is a much healthier option. 

Dasheen leaves (Taro leaves) are used to make the callaloo portion of this awesome combo and you can see some of the nutritional benefits of the Taro leaves and root by clicking the following links.
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2676/2
https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/other/taro-root.html

INGREDIENTS

• 3 crabs (cleaned - not necessary to pre-season it)
• 20 Dasheen leaves (Taro leaves)
• 10 young ochroes sliced
• 1 hot pepper (cut up)
• 2 pimentos chopped
• 1 oinion chopped
• 4 cloves garlic crushed
• blended green seasoning
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• chopped chive
• 1 small tomato chopped
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp geera seeds (cumin)
• 1 lime
• 1 tsp salt
• boiling water 

METHOD

• Heat pot  and add coconut oil. When hot, add geera seeds until toasted. Meanwhile boil kettle/pot of water.
• Add chopped onion and hot pepper and stir, then proceed to add the crushed garlic.
• Add curry powder and stir until it gives off a fragrant aroma. It must grip the bottom of the pot.

• Add the crabs, tomatoes, pimentos, blended seasoning, some chopped chives, cover and  let it simmer on medium heat. 

• When the crab sticks in pot add more green seasoning, boiling water, cover and let it cook on medium heat. It is very important that the crab cooks properly.

 Approximately 20 minutes after add the ochroes followed by the dasheen leaves.

Squeeze a few drops of  lime juice on the leaves then add salt, stir and cover and continue cooking. Ensure you stir at intervals and monitor the water level.

• This dish should take approx 1hr to cook. Taste for salt and pepper. Remember you always have the power to tweak the recipe to your liking.

Have a look at how mine turned out.

For additional flavour some people use coconut milk in this dish.

Hope you try this soon. Enjoy the rest of the Holiday!!!

Remember to cook with love and good vibes.

Spicy Curried Shrimps

Spicy Curried Shrimps

Gosh it has been a super hectic Sunday thus far but I just had to spare a few moments to share with you my spicy curried shrimps. My dad is probably devouring this at the Queen's Park Oval right now.

For the CPL T20 finals he requested i make curried shrimps to go with the whole wheat bread. It was quick and very simple to prepare.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb shelled, de-veined shrimps  (seasoned with salt and green seasoning)
• 1 hot pepper (cut up)
• blended green seasoning
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1 small onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic crushed
• chopped chive
• 1 small tomato chopped
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp geera seeds

METHOD

• Heat pot  and add coconut oil. When hot, add geera seeds until toasted.
• Add chopped onion and hot pepper and stir, then proceed to add the crushed garlic.
• Add curry powder and stir until it gives off a fragrant aroma. It must grip the bottom of the pot.
• Add the shrimps, tomatoes and some chopped chives, cover and  let it simmer in its own juices for a few minutes on low heat. 

• When shrimp grips pot add some blended green seasoning,  Please ensure the texture of the shrimp is not rubbery. 

• Garnish with chopped chives as seen below. 
  

I sampled one shrimp and it was awesome. Hope you try this soon. This also goes well with dhalpourie or sada roti. 

All the best to the TT Red Steel team today!!

Remember to cook with love and good vibes.

Fish Broth

Fish Broth

Well after that heavy pelau on Sunday I opted for a very light dinner. I had some pieces of seasoned salmon  in the freezer so I ceased the opportunity to make a fish soup or as we call it in Trinidad a fish broth. This is also a great way to use the head of the fish so that it does not go to waste. After all fish is very expensive.

My dad picked some ochroes (okra ) from the garden so I included them in the broth. I should mention that okra plays a very important part in our trini diet. Below are just a few reasons why okra should be used.

1. Okra is good for atherosclerosis.
2. Okra is believed to protect some forms of cancer expansion, especially colorectal cancer.
3. Eating okra helps to support the structure of capillaries.
4. Some information shows that eating okra lowers the risk of cataracts.
5. Okra is good for preventing diabetes.
6. Okra is good in normalizing the blood sugar and cholesterol level.

To see more health benefits of okra please visit the following link.

okra-health-benefits.htm

In addition to 4 young ochroes I used the following in my simple fish broth.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lime

• Pieces of Local salmon (seasoned with salt and blended green seasoning)

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot (cubed)
• 3 pimentos, chopped
• 1 chive, chopped
• 4 leaves patchoi, chopped
• bandhanya leaves

• 3 stalks celery, chopped

• Blended green seasoning (bandanya, ginger, chive, celery, garlic, thyme, hot pepper, podinah).

• 2 idaho potatoes (cut up)- I usually season with salt and green seasoning as this technique improves the flavour.

Now for the procedure which is really easy.
METHOD

• Fill stainless steel pot to 3/4 mark with water. Turn on flame.
• Add the onions, ochroes, pimentos, carrots, some of the celery.

• Add the seasoned potato, some blended green seasoning, cover pot and boil until the potato cooks.
• Add the fish and the remaining celery and cook for 5 minutes (does not take long). 
• Add salt to taste.

• Turn off flame and  add chopped patchoi and a little lime juice to the broth.

Unfortunately i did not have the customary green bananas (green fig) to put in the broth but nevertheless it turned out awesome.
Personally I do not like to add any butter to the broth especially since I am trying to keep it healthy.
Hope you try this soon.
Remember to cook with love and good vibes.

Fish Nuggets

Fish Nuggets

Another weekend has just come to a close and Saturday I was not in the mood to cook anything elaborate. I thought fish nuggets would be a  great addition to lunch.  It's healthy and relatively easy to make.

I purchased the fresh fish from the local fishmonger but you have many different options. You can also get your fish at your regular local supermarket or from a seafood specialist such as :

http://www.mainlineseafoodtt.com/

In the event that you are being adventurous and  have to clean, scale and gut the fish you can follow the simple  procedure in this clip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PmYs_dO40M

For my nuggets I used local trini salmon (also known as sea trout)

Sea trout is an excellent source of omega-3 essential fatty acids, which are linked with reduced risk of heart disease and some cancers.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 local salmon (scaled, gutted and washed)
• whole wheat flour (to make the batter)
• blended green  seasoning 
• thyme
• canola oil  (or coconut oil) for frying
• ½ tsp sea salt

METHOD

• Cut up the filleted salmon into small pieces 
• Season with salt, blended green seasoning and thyme.

• Roll the fish chunks in the wholewheat flour until fully coated.
• Heat frying pan with canola/ coconut oil
• Place fish chunks into pan and fry until golden brown

In general fish does not take long to cook. To test to see if the fish is thoroughly cooked cut a piece and ensure that the inside is white. If it is still translucent this means it is not finished and requires more cooking.

This is how my nuggets turned out. As you would notice I placed the fish on a paper towel to to make sure that the excess oil is properly absorbed.

What I have noticed is that the whole wheat flour batter acts as a shield for the nuggets and less oil is absorbed during frying thereby rendering it much healthier than regular white flour.

Hope you try this soon.  Mine was really crunchy and  tasty with some pepper sauce.

Remember to cook with love and good vibes.

Pepper Shrimps

It's Friday once again and I thought  Pepper Shrimps would be a great meal for lunch. It's really quick & easy to prepare. I should mention that I had a kit of pre-seasoned shrimp in the freezer. I prefer to season my shrimp with salt immediately after cleaning it.

So basically I am going to show you how to convert 

Before

After

INTO

For this I used:

• 1 lb shelled, de-veined shrimps 
• oyster sauce 
• blended green seasoning
• grated ginger
• coconut oil
• chopped chive

and all the ingredients shown in the photo below:

METHOD:

Heat the wok and add a few drops of oil. When super hot add chopped onions and hot peppers and stir. This usually makes me sneeze!! 

Add the tomatoes then the shrimps, toss up and cover and simmer for a few minutes on low heat. When shrimp grips pot add some blended green seasoning, a dash of oyster sauce ( some people use ketchup)  pimentos, sweet pepper, carrots  and simmer for a few minutes. Please ensure the texture of the shrimp is not rubbery. Garnish with chopped chives.

And there you have it >>> mouth watering, succulent pepper shrimps which go very well with noodles. 

It was divine!

Remember to cook with love and good vibes.