This recipe is a staple side dish of mine that I’ve adapted and modified at length through the years. Both colorful and flavourful I think it creates a texturally interesting background for spicy curries and other East Indian flavoured entrees.

Coconut Rice with Lentils and Cashews
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 lb. basmati rice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon stone ground mustard
1 teaspoon urad dhal or brown lentils
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon madras curry powder
2 ounces fresh coconut, grated
1 ounce unsalted roasted cashews
salt and pepper
METHOD:
1. Put the rice in a sieve and rinse under cold …

Oops! It almost slipped my mind to let you all know the wonderful dal recipe that I used with yesterday’s Dosas.
This Tridoshic dal comes from a cookbook that I’ve been using for years called The Ayurvedic Cookbook.
I’m always interested in learning about the culinary traditions and philosophies of other cultures. Eastern cuisines in particular often fixates on the concept of warming and cooling foods. Maintaining a balance of the two within a meal, or strategically stimulating or calming ones system where imbalance is detected. This approach to balance …

Mom first made this recipe last year and it was a hit! Plantain is rarely showcased this formally on dinner tables and it really is a shame. In this case, lengths of ripe plantain are oven-baked with orange juice and zest. The result is creamy, with a slightly caramelized exterior.
My personal suggestions with this recipe are to 1) make sure the plantain is adequately ripe i.e. that the skin has become almost completely black. The dish isn’t as appealing when the plantain is too firm. Similarly, rather than topping …

Don’t you just love vague ‘ethnic’ recipe titles? Coming from the American Turkey Federation I’m not sure exactly how ‘Arabian’ this recipe actually is, but I despite that grey area all you really need to know is that it is good!

Arabian Vegetable Medley
SERVINGS: 16
SOURCE: National Turkey Federation
INGREDIENTS:
2 Pounds eggplant, Cut in 1-1/2 cubes
2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 cups sliced onion
2 Teaspoons minced garlic
1 Teaspoon salt
1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon pepper
2 Cans (1 pound each) tomatoes, undrained and coarsely chopped
1 Can (16 ounces) chick peas, rinsed and drained
METHOD:
1. In large …

I’m a huge fan of soups, especially thick creamy soups, so this butternut squash bisque was right up my alley.
It’s sweet and savoury, all in one, and so so smooth. As with most soups I find that slow cooking the vegetable components until they deeply caramelized ensures the most flavourful result, and don’t be afraid to salt the vegetable base in between additions as well. It really helps to heighten the overall profile and bring the flavours together. To add an additional level of panache, garnish each serving …

Oiled down (also more commonly referred to as ‘oildown’) is one of those truly transcendent West Indian delights. As I wrote, in one of this blog’s first entries:
“Oil Down, is a colloquial Caribbean name for any dish of starchy vegetables cooked in coconut milk until all the milk is absorbed and the ingredients have turned into a creamy mush (or have ‘oiled down’). The two most popular oil downs are breadfruit oil down and cassava oil down. Oil down is really something to experience first-hand, I am not sure that …

I’m always looking for interesting and creative side dishes. The kind that can be used both formally and informally. This recipe fit the bill. Warm creamy potatoes and sweet pumpkin slices combine to create an unexpected comfort food vibe, while the vibrant notes of fresh basil, make it exciting enough for guests’ palates.

Braised Pumpkin and Potatoes
Makes 6 to 8 servings
INGREDIENTS:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ lbs. pumpkin, sliced ¾-inch thick
½ lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, halved and sliced 1/3-inch thick
1 medium tomato, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 medium …

You know one of the unexpected discoveries of having a food blog is realizing how much our parents keep from us about -their- culinary pasts. Before I started TriniGourmet I thought it was reasonable to assume that the foods my parents made were accurate reflections of their respective heritages (Trinidad and Jamaica respectively), and as such included faves from their own childhoods. Not so. It has happened on more than one occasion that a dish I have made here (often for the first time) unlocks a flood gates of “MMMM, …

This concoction came up on a whim. I’m always looking for ways to invent and reinvent rice-based side dishes. Sauteed garlic, scotch bonnet peppers and sweet peppers create a hot and savoury medley. The piece de resistance however is the inclusion of fresh thyme which makes each mouthful unexpectedly fragrant. It made a wonderful complement to this year’s Emancipation Day menu. Give it a try!

From About.com:
Origin, History, and Mythology: Gaius Plinius Secundus, (circa 23 – 79 A.C.E.), better known as Pliny the Elder, said that when thyme …

When I heard that this month’s theme of Meeta’s Monthly Mingle was “Earth Food” I smiled. You see, I have been interested in the preservation of the environment from a very young age. Where I got this passion for conservation I’m not quite sure, but I attribute some of it to Charlie.
Who is Charlie you ask?
Well he was a cartoon mascot in the early 1980’s for the Solid Waste Management Company here in Trinidad and Tobago. Charlie was a bit of a unattractive slob and his face was emblazoned …