|
Quick
food made with chickpeas and curry: Trini's national dish "Roti"
Curry
sauce instead of ketchup: Rotis in Trinidad are like hamburgers in the
USA. The island’s unofficial national dish consists of a delicious
curry meal wrapped in thin pastry; its prototype was brought to the
Caribbean by Indian immigrants some decades ago. The handy little
packets of food have turned into a top seller for a quick snack. But at
Siriam Patràj’s, Trinidad’s uncrowned roti king, the popular dish
is treated as a true delicacy. By
Bernhard Grdseloff (C) 2005 |
 |
|
Connoisseurs
won’t hesitate to travel all the way to San Juan, a suburb of Port of
Spain, just to get hold of a roti at Patraj’s. At carnival, people
queue up at the inconspicuous little restaurant as though there was food
to be given away. "Actually there are three types of rotis,"
the 67-year-old restaurant owner explains. "Sada Roti is served as
a side dish, Bussup Shot resembles a cut up pizza, and only for
Dhalpouri are the ingredients wrapped up in the dough."
For
the latter popular variety, a ball of dough is filled with ground, split
chickpeas, kneaded and rolled out very thinly, and finally baked on a
hot stone plate. There are countless different curry fillings to choose
from: shrimp, chicken, beef, lamb, mango, pumpkin or capsicum in any
combination, mixed with potatoes.
"We
use fresh, local ingredients only," says Patràj, revealing the
secret for success of his family-run business. "And despite this,
you’ll only pay around 6 TT dollars (about 1 US-Dollar) for a roti at
my place". |
Sada
Roti: served as a side dish |
|
Dhalpour Roti: the
recipe to make your own
Mix
two cups of flour with two teaspoons of baking powder, and rub in one
tablespoon of butter. Add ¾ to 1 cup lukewarm water, kneading well until
the dough is elastic. Shape into a roll and cut into 6 pieces.
Roll
out thinly on a floured surface, brush with oil and dust slightly with
flour, then fold in half and in half again. Shape into a ball again and
fill the ball with crushed chickpeas.
Leave
to rest for 10 minutes Roll out thinly once more. Fry
the sheets of pastry on a griddle or in a Teflon pan. Brush with oil and
fry on the other side.
As
soon as they’re ready, shape into a cone or envelope and fill. Use any
curry of your choice, mixed with potatoes.
Roti
with chicken or beef curry are the most popular in Trinidad. Seasoned
mango vegetables add a special taste.
|
