By Kimberly Ramkhalawan
Pictures courtesy Marlene Turner, 868 Foodies International
It’s the one meal in Trinidad and Tobago that is the go-to-dish to make when you are heading to the beach, a picnic, take along on a site seeing trip around the island, or a gathering of family and friends outdoors by the river, or at someone’s yard.
Many say its origin is from the Spanish paella, some say it’s from the African Jolof dish, others say Indian dish pulao, which also speaks of a cook up with peas and rice. However, it was the enslaved Africans who contributed the caramelizing of the sugar before adding the meats, which would make it truly a Trinidad version. This is what makes the meat so brown and adds that rich colour to the dish. This meal transcends all of the cultures that came to settle in the twin islands and represents the one meal we can all share and enjoy.
Now it can be done without meat, but it is commonly done with small chicken pieces, or strips of beef, some versions use smoked pigtails too.
In Trinidad and Tobago our meats are washed and well-seasoned with fresh green herbs such as celery, chives, culantro (bandania or chadon-beni), thyme, Spanish thyme (Jamaican bull thyme), pimentos and finely diced garlic and salt. This is marinaded for at least a day or few hours before cooking to ensure flavour penetrates the meats. Much of this seasoning is also needed for the dish itself, so reserve a good heaping each of garlic, green seasonings and diced pimentoes for it as well.
And while its common to use some kind of legume, with fresh pigeon peas that have been preboiled its popular version, red beans or black-eyed peas also works, although my personal preference is the pigeon peas since red beans and black-eyed peas tend to give it a dry texture. Fresh coconut milk is also used, but a sachet of powdered coconut milk does the job of adding that creamy texture as well.
In Trinidad and Tobago, we have something called “Golden Ray Butter”. It’s a heavily salted margarine that is orange in colour and is added at the near end of the cooking process. In the 80s and 90s its tagline for its tv-commercial was to “add that rich Creole flavour”, its since been changed to the Caribbean flavour, and is perhaps known widely among the islands.
So many local cooks will see this recipe and agree, while some might disagree, I can assure you in the end it is a dish that is comforting.
My advice to anyone cooking this, is to let your “sweet hand” guide you. If you’re a good cook you will know what that means, which is you know how much to add to ensure the dish is full of the right amount of flavour.
Ingredients
2 cups of parboiled brown rice (rinsed)
1 or ¾ whole chicken, cut into small parts, already washed, seasoned and marinaded
1 tin of Green pigeon peas (or red beans or black eyed peas) or 1&1/2 cups of fresh pigeon peas boiled
½ cup diced pimentos
½ cup diced fresh garlic
2 tbsp freshly grated ginger (must have for any stew like this)
1 cup of fresh green herbs chopped (Celery, Chive, Spanish thyme)
2 sprigs of fresh green thyme
1/3 cup of chopped culantro (chadon beni/bandania)
4 tbsp of brown sugar
3 tbsp of vegetable oil
½ cup pumpkin shredded
¼ cup powdered coconut milk
1 litre of boiled hot water
2 tbsp tomato paste or ketchup
2 tbsp dark soy sauce (since I don’t use browning for colour)
1 tbsp salt (or less to your preference)
1 tbsp Golden Ray (salted butter)
METHOD:
Heat a large pot (size of a dutch oven pot), add the sugar to the hot pot until it starts to caramelize, (melted turn brown). After the sugar caramelized, add the vegetable oil. Once heated well, add the chicken pieces to the pot and toss. Leave the chicken to cook in the sugar , turning and tossing every few minutes until all sides are coated and have ‘fried’ or cooked turning brown on all sides. Throw in the grated ginger, garlic, pimentos, peas or beans, washed rice, green seasoning mix and thyme, coconut milk powder, pumpkin. Mix thoroughly. Add boiling water to the pot ensuring all ingredients is covered with water. At this point you can also add tomato paste, soy sauce, and salt to taste. Allow to bring to a bubble, then lower heat to a simmer, and place pot cover partially over pot to cook. Leave for approximately 35-45minutes until water is mostly boiled out. With little to no water, you can add in chopped culantro and 1 tablespoon of golden ray. Mix in thoroughly and remove from heat.
Serve with fresh cole slaw, or fresh salad.