October 2009 | Simply Trini Cooking

With the rainy season upon us here in Trinidad and Tobago comes many wonderful sights around where I live: The hills turn from a a hay yellow with spots of light green here and there, to a lush, vibrant viridian; Meagre ravines and rivers become swollen and teeming with life once more; Guabine ( Hoplias malabaricus), Teta ( Hypostomus robinii) and Coscarob (Aequidens pulcher) make their homes under dark rocks in the cool, serene mountain pools; birds of every imaginable colour sing their praise high in the canopy with Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus), Semp (Violaceous Euphonia), Blue Jean (Thraupis episcopus, Blue-Grey Tanager) and Big Eye Grieve (Turdus nudigenis) in one accord..... of course hidden in holes at the river bank or between crevices and cracks in the rocks there is also Mr Crab....

Up in the mountains here in Maracas we have mountain crab (Pseudotelphusa garmani) or what we call brown crab which is abundant during the rainy season and of course grace many a pot in the best way we know to serve crab: curried with dumpling. Of course when it comes to curry crab we're not that choosy because any kind would make a good pot.

So, when I saw that we got some crab the other day, the first thing that ran through my mind was a good pot of curry crab and dumpling. But seeing that we already did dumpling so many times I decided to post cassava dumpling instead: a wonderful variation that's wholesome and rich in fibre.

In the end it was a treat I thoroughly enjoyed. At one time during my feast, the lime pepper sauce got the better of me and made me cough. As we say in Trini "it went down de wrong throat" :-D Boy that pepper is flamin' ! Anyhow, enough of me and my adventures. Now it's your turn to try this local recipe that every Trini loves: Curry crab and Cassava Dumpling.

CURRY CRAB AND CASSAVA DUMPLING

For Crab (seasoning)
8 crab
4 tbsp. curry, divided
2 tbsp green seasoning
14 leaves Chadon Beni
6 cloves garlic
3 pimento peppers
1 dash pepper sauce

For Crab (currying)
1 medium tomato, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp amchar masala
1 tsp geera (cumin)
1/2 tsp saffron powder (tumeric)
1/3 cup water

2 cups coconut milk
OR
2 pks (50 g) coconut milk powder
1/2 cup water

For Cassava Dumpling
3 cups grated cassava
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup water (see note)
2 tbsp salt for boiling

Cassava Dumpling

Wash and peel the cassava

and grate on the rough side of the grater as shown

Place in a cloth and squeeze out the excess water.

Note: This water will be used when mixing the dough for the dumpling. If you don't get enough

add water to the "cassava water" to make 1 cup.

add water and flour

mix into a firm dough

Divide the dough into two and make long rolls

slice the dough

Shape the dough in your hands to make the dumpling

Add dumpling and 2 tbsp salt to boiling water

When the dumpling floats to the top it is ready

Drain

The finished cassava dumpling

Curry Crab

Wash and clean the crab, then scald with hot water.

Place in a large bowl and add green seasoning...

2 tbsp curry...

and half of the; chopped pimento, chadon beni, garlic and pepper sauce mixture.

Note: The chopped pimento, chadon beni, garlic and pepper sauce is mixed in a bowl before adding to the crab. Also, we used some of the lime pepper sauce.

Cover with foil and place in the fridge to marinate overnight or for at least 3 hours

Mix up the crab and crack the gundy (claws) to allow the curry to infuse when cooking.

The crab is ready now but one more step before we start to curry.

Mix saffron, geera, masala, 2 tbsp of curry and
the other half of the seasoning mixture in 1/3 cup water.

Heat the oil over medium heat and add the garlic and onion.

Add the curry

and let it fry until it gets sticky

Add the crab

Allow to cook turning frequently for about two minutes

Add the tomato

Mix the coconut powder in 1/2 cup water.

Add the coconut milk to the crab.

continue to cook for about a minute

Then add 3 cups of water

Note: If you're using the regular coconut milk then add 1 cup of water

allow to cook until the crab turns red (about 5 minutes)

The crab is good now. Serve over cassava dumpling and enjoy.

I hope you enjoyed the Trini curry crab and cassava dumpling. More recipes to come. Ah gone!

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Have you ever felt like eating a simple meal without the extra side dishes and sauces? Well that's how I felt the day my wife made this Trini Lasagna. I just wanted something different but simple and easy to make at the same time. So this is what she decided to make; Trini Lasagna.

How easy is it to make? Very easy, and you can add your own twist to it as you go along. Kind of reminds me of music. There were jazz compositions I played that were like sketches: they gave you lots of "space" to improvise and add new and ear tickling chord substitutions in between. So just like a well written composition, lets cook up a storm with this simple recipe and make a few mouth watering improvisations in between. Who knows, it could be a delicious discovery on your path to taste utopia!

Basically I always envision this recipe in four parts: first you have the lasagne; then there is the meat; then the cheese and lastly the sauce. With the lasagne I don't think there's much to do than boiling it, unless it is boiled in some sort of seasoning. Sounds like a plan!

Ok, what can we do with the meat? Limitless variations! You could mix meats together, the seasoning process you could experiment with, for example our Trini method of seasoning which involves marinating. And while we're on meats why not try experimenting with the textures of different meats; Or some sea food.

Well, for the cheese I can certainly tell you one of my variations would be just more cheese than usual; a cheesier lasagna perhaps with double cheese :-D lol O.K, O.K I have seen variations already with four cheeses but how about seasoning the grated cheese with your own special blend of spices.

For the sauce, of course, everything goes. Why not use a sauce from your culture or another culture. By the time you're done you could have a lasagna that's truly international. A little of the East and West in one dish. I'm really thinking out of the box here....

Anyhow! I hope you make this simple recipe with your own improvisations and really make "music" in your mouth. Here's Trini Lasagna: our local twist to a famous dish.

TRINI LASAGNA

1 pack of lasagna pasta
1 lb minced beef (seasoned)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 lb. cheddar cheese, grated
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour, all purpose
1 cup milk
1 dash black pepper
2 tbsp. roucou or tomato paste ( if you're using tomato paste you could use a little more)

Boil the lasagne and set aside.

Heat pot over a medium flame...

And add the seasoned minced beef

Note: We did not add any oil to the pot.

Make sure meat is well done

Add roucou or tomato paste

Make the White Sauce. Over a low flame, melt the butter, stir in the flour, and add the milk and black pepper. Mix, preferably with a fork to ensure that the flour don't lump together. Continue to boil until the milk gets thick. Remove immediately from the flame.