Corn Soup (Trini Style)
In today's post I have something of a treat; Trini style Corn Soup. Corn soup is real liming food in Trinidad; be it at a football game, Carnival, Panorama, a fete (all inclusive) or just a Friday evening lime with your friends, corn soup is a crowd favourite. I remember after work sometimes I would look for a corn soup man to buy a cup of piping hot corn soup and slowly sip on my way home. But this soup is not only considered street food, it is also a main dish like all the other soups we make.
Corn SoupNow some of you might be saying "soup a main dish?"; our soups are usually thick with lots of ingredients like ground provision and dumplings and because of this, it is considered a whole meal so as we say in trini " if yuh eat too much, yuh belly go buss". Corn soup is no different; it has lots of ingredients, a lot of taste and filling as well. Of course everyone have their own twist and preferences in making this dish also, some people add coconut milk, cream style corn, pig tail (like me), or other meats...some even do a hybrid cow heel corn soup that tastes just as well.
By now you know I will tell you to experiment with the dish; I still believe that the taste buds rule when it comes to cooking. So don't be afraid to experiment. Here's trini style Corn Soup.
By now you know I will tell you to experiment with the dish; I still believe that the taste buds rule when it comes to cooking. So don't be afraid to experiment. Here's trini style Corn Soup.
CORN SOUP
⅔ cup split peas
1 cup channa (garbanzo), soaked overnight
6 - 8 cups water
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 chive stalk
1 celery stalk
2 pimento peppers
4 ears of corn
1 carrot
1 cup pumpkin
1 pk vegetable soup
1 hot pepper. (optional)
3 bouillon cubes (optional)salt to taste
For dumpling:
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmealwater
Wash the channa and pressure cook for about 15 minutes. Pressure cook the split peas for about 10 minutes
Knead the dough for the cornmeal dumpling to a semi-stiff dough,and cut into 1/2" pieces. Set aside.
Clean and chop the corn into 1 -2" pieces (notice the technique; just press down the point of the knife into the corn)
Chop up the rest of ingredients (carrots, pimento, chive, celery, pumpkin)
and add to pot of water.
and add to pot of water.
When boiling, add corn, dumplings, split peas and channa and allow to simmer for about 20 mins or until the corn is cooked and the dumplings float to the surface. Stir occasionally.
This pot of corn soup looks just about done. Serve hot.
Another delicious post has come to an end, as they all do. Bye for now.
September 6, 2008 9:16 PM
Calling this corn soup is so deceiving! It has wonderful ingredients besides the corn like pumpkin and garbanzo beans. Delicious!
September 6, 2008 11:11 PM
What's not to like in this soup with all those yummy vegetables. I have never had whole corn ears before. The only way we eat them is by grilling them. I suppose they have to be extra tender to cook them because the ones we get are woody in the core.
September 7, 2008 11:04 AM
The way you eat them grilled, we call it roast corn and yes, the corn is usually green and tender to make the corn soup; they're not as matured or full
December 16, 2008 12:27 PM
Looks good and filling. I have never seen a soup with corn like that in it before. Always just the corn kernels. Very interesting.
December 16, 2008 3:26 PM
Well foodaholic welcome to the world of Trini cooking. I have lots of other interesting dishes like this one in the blog. Thanks for your comment.
April 28, 2010 9:07 AM
My my My ...I recently got married and this is the world's greatest site to me.great great great!
April 28, 2010 9:38 AM
Congratulations Roma on your marriage. Thank you :-)