Barbeque Tofu, sooooo yum



Barbeque Tofu and Mashed Potatoes

Cuisine    Vegetarian
Type        Main
Time       30 mins Prep + 1 hr cooking
Serves    7


So it’s Good Friday, the first holiday of the Easter weekend and I am sooo hungry. Decided to make my favorite; barbeque tofu since I’m fasting. Even if I wasn’t fasting I would have made this as I am not great with cooking chicken. And as I said before I sooo love this recipe!!! Yum.

On the topic of barbeque chicken, the best I’ve eaten in Trinidad is from this place called Grannies in San'do. You get either a leg and thigh or a breast and wing, your choice of two side; macaroni salad, potato salad or rice for $35. I usually get macaroni salad and potato salad. It always tastes sooooo good!. Ahh well.... let me get back to my barbeque tofu!

This recipe is a work in progress. I had initially tried skewing the tofu but they kept sliding off the skewer!!! Very very frustrating. My next attempt, a Christmas I think it was, was to bake it. That did not work too well since the tofu did not seem to cook. So what I ended up doing was deep frying to keep the tofu from mashing up and then adding the sauce and everything else in a pot. I know, is laziness really, who wants to sit and baste tofu, when you an chuck everybody in a pot and mix ever sooo often! So guys please have a try. This goes down good with the non vege people too!

Ingredients

2 packs silken tofu
2 tsp soysauce
1 tin sliced mushrooms
3 onions cuts into eights
1 sweet pepper chopped
6 cloves garlic chopped fine
2 congo pepper, cut or left whole
1 ½ -2 cups barbeque sauce
½ tsp chilli powder, and red pepper flakes
½ c mixture of celery, chive, parsley chopped
Water, about 1 c
2tb vegetable oil and more for deep frying
Salt to taste

Procedure

1.    Cut tofu into cubes and mix with soy-sauce. Heat oil to really hot and drop in tofu, taking care not to burn yourself. I usually cover the pot immediately after as the oil spits out as soon as the tofu goes in. Fry till outsides are cooked. Drain and set aside.

2.    Prepare vegetables as specified.

3.    Heat a pan and add oil and as soon as hot add onions, garlic and vegetables and sauté for a few minutes. Add salt to taste.

4.    Add tofu and chilli powder and flakes. Stir.

5.    Add about 1/s c barbeque sauce which can be thinned with some water. Stir until it gets thick and keep adding more barbeque sauce and drying down until you get consistency you want.

Tips

1.    You can add any vegetables you want, although I don’t think broccoli would do well with barbeque sauce!

2.    Oil must be very hot when frying tofu, and it only takes a few minutes to cook once oil is the right temperature. Also again be very careful, tofu does not take kindly to deep frying. I keep a cover over the pot when I am frying.

3.    I used Hunts Barbeque sauce and Matouks. Hunts is more potent so I used a little and I used a lot more Matouks. So the amount of barbeque sauce really depends on the brand you buy and your taste.

4.    I used Mori-nu Silken tofu that comes in a white pack with blue writing. I found mines in MS Supermarket and I think Hilo stocks them too. This is my favorite brand of tofu, I hate the spongy one; they’re awful!

Cheesy, Creamy, Yummy Macaroni Pie

Yeah, for those of you who’ve never been to the ‘teensy weensy’ Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago, you may be a little confused why I’ve listed this pasta dish as a Trinidadian concoction. Well even I wonder why! I just know that macaroni pie is something every body does make in Trinidad. You’ll find macaroni pie in eateries everywhere along the length and breath of this sunny twin island republic usually as a sidekick to fried rice, stewed or baked chicken, stew red beans and callaloo, with some ground provisions thrown in. Makes you feel hungry doesn’t it?

It’s as to be expected with cheesy gooey delights a favorite of adults and children; I am huge fan as well. But then I can happily eat pasta and pizza every day of the week. In my last life I suspect I was Italian and one day I hope to dedicate a year to chomp my way through Italy’s culinary attractions. 

Macaroni pie is not your run-of-the-mill macaroni and cheese, its sooooo much better. The top is crusty and golden caramelized cheesy goodness while the insides are macaroni laced with a heavenly melted creamy cheesy sauce! So so good…

I’ve been wondering how this reached our white sandy shores. Was it the Americans with their base in Chaguaramas in the Second World War? Was it some unknown Italian who came and changed our culinary landscape forever and disappeared unknown into history. Or was it some nameless trini cook who made this hallowed discovery when pondering what to do with the long hard strings of dough that is macaroni? We might never know, but whoever it was, we are eternally grateful.


A word about ingredients: use 100% durum wheat macaroni as this will not be gummy when boiled. I used Swiss Macaroni but you can use any brand you prefer The cheddar cheese we get in Trinidad I don’t know if that is available in the US as my aunt always asks family who are visiting her in the US to bring a few blocks since she can’t find it there. The one I used did not have a brand name. You can use Anchor cheddar cheese as we get that brand in Trinidad or I guess any other cheddar cheese will do. I used normal, ‘Stay-fresh” milk (now Nestle), not evaporated milk; the milk does get creamier when the sauce boils down but you can substitute a little evaporated milk for some normal milk. I did not want it to taste too milky but you’re free to use more if that’s more your thing.

I present to you Trini Macaroni Pie. Beware its quite addictive.


Cuisine    Trinidadian
Type        Side-dish, Starch,
Time        30 mins Prep + 45 mins cooking
Serves    15


Ingredients

400g/14.1oz        pack macaroni (100% durum semolina)
3 tb                       Butter (room temperature)
5 tb                       flour
3 c or more         cheddar cheese grated
4 c                        milk (normal or evaporated or a combination)
¼ tsp                   ground black pepper
1 ¼ tsp                Salt (extra for salted water)
1 tsp                    Sugar
1tsp                     vegetable oil


Procedure

1.    Put a large pot of well salted water to boil. Add macaroni when the water starts to boil and add oil. When the macaroni is cooked but firm drain and reserve.

2.    Grate the cheese. Measure out the milk and have ready.

3.    Heat a large pot on low heat. Mix the butter and flour together and add to the pot. Stir until the flour smells cooked and not raw. This should take about 5 minutes but be careful not to burn. Once the flour is cooked start adding milk a ½ c at a time while whisking so that there are no lumps of flour. Continue whisking until all of the milk is added. Mix until the mixture thickens. This will take about 10 mins or less.

4.    Mix in salt, sugar and black pepper and take off stove and cool sauce for a few minutes. Take 2c of the cheese and add a little at a time while mixing to melt into sauce. Add macaroni and mix well to coat with sauce. Add ¼ c of cheese now and mix gently.

5.    Pour into a greased circular pan or a rectangular pan. Top with rest of cheese or more if you like.

6.    Bake at 350 for 45 mins. You can broil on low for 5 mins if you want the top golden.

Copyright © 2010 Aruna Ria   All Rights Reserved




     

Coconut Chutney, how my agee does make it

Coconut chutney and Aloo-pie on a banana leaf

“Vote for me, I will not disappoint. I guarantee total gastronomic satisfaction; dem odders eh have notin on me. I is the only one with a smoky disposition and a serious spicy undertone. I could take de heat and with all dis fuss about de environment I can boost of being green….ish. I am a team player, I doh go it alone, whether I working with aloo pie or kachorie or even pholourie I am a hit wherever I go. Try me with some dhal and rice and you’ll see what I mean. So vote for me; coconut chutney, I am the king of chutneys, tamarind and mango is only pretenders, I am the real contender” That was an unpaid culinary announcement. The views expressed may be exactly the views of this blog.

So with all the electioneering going roung, ah was in a politicking mood. Is just two weeks again before Trinidad’s 41st General Election and I hope that we make it there without any violent or ugly incidents. I don't tink so though, Trinidadians are in general a peaceful people, unless you raise the price of a doubles or try to cancel Carnival. 

Coconut Chutney garnished with Bandania

Coconut chutney is really vying for my vote as my favorite chutney with tamarind running a close second. This recipe is how my agee used to make it long time. She used to grind it with this massive stone mortar and pestle. It was a massive 15’’×20’’ stone with a concave indentation on the top and a smaller oblong stone which she used to do the grinding. I think she got it from the beach or a river. I wish I had one of those but I had to make do with a blender. The main drawback of the blender was the exorbitant amount of water required to get it to blend properly which sometimes gives a watery result. With the mortar and pestle my agee has you get everything even the bandania ground really fine giving the chutney a green ting and you don't require a huge amount of water to achieve this.

This version of coconut chutney is very versatile as it does not contain any exotic spices and so can go with any type of cuisine. I’ve seen other coconut chutneys recipes on the net and in cookbooks but they don’t do what my agee does which is roast the coconut. The roasting brings out the fabulous warm earthy aroma of the coconut, it’s really fantastic. It makes the whole house smell yummy.

Cuisine    Trini-Indian
Type        Condiment
Serves     20 (makes 2 ½ c chutney)
Skill          Easy
Time        40 mins
  

Ingredients

1 ¾ c         coconut diced into ¼ “ cubes (about 1 ¾ of a whole coconut)
7 cloves    garlic chopped coarsely (so would not stick in blender blades)
4                congo pepper (or whatever hot pepper you have) chopped
1 ¹/8 tsp    salt
15-20        leaves bandania (can subst curry or mint leaves) chopped
1 ½ c         water

The heat of this chutney I would say is medium. You can add more pepper if you want it hotter or less if you prefer a milder chutney.

Procedure

 1.    Cut your coconut into two with the blunt edge of a knife. Separate the white coconut flesh from the hard brown outer shell. You can use a knife to do this but be careful not to cut yourself.

2.    Try to flatten the pieces of flesh so they are not too curved as this will help them get evenly roasted. Roast the coconut on both sides on a stove top until there are dark brown patches but do not burn to a crisp. Some parts may catch fire but that’s okay, just put it out and continue. When you are done you can scrape out the really burnt bits. When done chop coarsely enough so that it will not get stuck in the blender blades. 

3.    Chop garlic, bandania and pepper. 

4.    Drop the coconut, garlic, bandania and pepper into the blender and pulse until everything is minced. If you like this consistency you can add salt to taste and you’re done. 

5.    If you prefer a more soupy consistency add the water a little at a time and blitz until you get the consistency you like. Add the salt and blend. Pour into a bowl to serve.   

Copyright © 2010 Aruna Ria    All Rights Reserved         



                

Sada Roti, hot off the tawah

Sada Roti is a daily staple in the Indian Trinidadian diet. Sada roti for breakfast with some fry aloo, sada roti for lunch with curry bodi, sada roti in the after noon with bhaji, or tomato choka. Let’s just say in my lifetime I’ve eaten a lot of this flat bread.

It’s a very simple recipe and does not keep well hence the reason I added the yeast and a little butter. It tends to get dry if made in the morning and kept till lunch. The traditional recipe is very similar to India’s chapatti although Sada roti is bigger in diameter, thicker and contains baking powder but the cooking process I suspect is the same. The traditional thickness of sada roti is around ¾’ but you are free to make it thinner if you like, just adjust the cooking time accordingly. Right off the tawah sada roti is fragrant, spongy and delicious. I recommend eating it hot off the tawah, with a little butter.

My first experience with making sada roti probably occurred when I was about five or six when I begged my agee (paternal grandmother) to let me beleh (roll out) the loyah (ball of dough). I was only allowed two rolls of the bilnah (rolling pin) that time. Later when I was a little older I was allowed to finish the rolling process I ended up with square roti instead of the perfectly round ones my agee made. The cooking of the roti was another hurdle requiring much experience and skill to produce the soft, ‘puffed’ result which was produced by a process called ‘saykaying’.

Its been years since then and if it’s one cooking skill I can attest to have mastered thanks to my agee it is the cooking of sada roti. Before we begin you must have a tawah (round griddle) or a griddle and a rolling pin (bilnah).

Cuisine: Trini-Indian

Type: Bread

Time: 1hr
Serves: 4-8 

Skill: Easy

Kid Participation: Some 

Ingredients
2 c            white flour (or 1 ¼ white flour plus ¾ c whole-wheat)  
2 tb           baking powder
¾ -1 c      water, as needed

You can safely omit these:
¼ tsp         instant yeast (optional)
¼ tsp         sugar (optional)
1  tb           butter (optional)


Procedure

1.    Mix the flour, baking powder, yeast butter and sugar if using in a bowl.

2.    Make a well in the centre of this mixture. Add a half cup of the water and mix with your fingers, adding more water as needed until you have a ball of dough.

3.    Knead the ball of dough on a flat floured surface or a chowkee for about 5 minutes until you have smooth elastic dough, sprinkling more flour if the dough is too sticky.

4.    Leave the dough to rise for 30 mins. 

 5.    Cut dough into two pieces and knead each piece into a ball. Leave to rest for 15 mins. Turn on the heat under the tawah or griddle.

6.    Take one piece of dough and roll out into a round flat shape 
of approximately ¼ ‘ thick on a chowkee or flat surface. You do this by rolling the dough, flipping it over and rotating it and repeating. Sprinkle flour if necessary to prevent sticking while you roll out the dough with the rolling pin. (bilnah)

7.    Check to see if the tawah or griddle is hot. If it is not hot enough the roti will take too long to cook and if it is too hot the   roti will get too stiff and will not swell.

8.    Put the roti on the hot tawah and wait until you see some small ‘bubbles which should be after a minute. Flip over at this point and leave for less than a minute. Then pull the tawah halfway off the burner. Pull the roti over the burner and rotate it over the fire quick enough so as it does not burn but slow enough so that it gets enough heat to that it starts to swell. Do not worry if it does not swell, it will still be delicious. 


9.    Flip over and repeat until the entire roti swells. This is called ‘saykaying’

10.    Take off tawah and wrap in towel to keep warm while you roll out and cook the other loyah (ball of dough).  


11.    Cut into quarters to serve. If your roti swelled you have a nice little pocket to fill with yummy things like fry aloo, bygan choka, curry channa and aloo etc. Or alternately you can eat it like we do in Trinidad by tearing a piece of the sada roti and scooping up some talkari or choka. Enjoy  

Tips
•    If your roti does not swell it may be because the tawah is too hot and the roti had gotten too hard.
•    Use the flat end of a large pot spoon (or if you have a dabla) to flip over the hot roti. Use a cloth to rotate the roti when saykaying if your hands cannot stand the heat.
•    Don’t worry if you end up with a square roti, it takes practice to get it to be a circle.


Copyright © 2010 Aruna Ria  All Rights Reserved


             

Currant Rolls from scratch

Currant Rolls cut diagonally

Well its election time in Trinidad, so you know what that means; lots of noisy rallies and politicians promising all sorta things. Well let me make you a promise, you will not be disappointed with this currants roll recipe. The pastry is very simple to make and it is has just the right combination of currants and sugar. It tastes sooo good, you’ll never realize you’re eating something with whole-wheat in it!

I was a little worried at first since I did ‘ratch’ the recipe having never made it before. But when two of the three currant roll logs disappeared without a trace within four hours of being out of the oven I knew I was on to something. Enjoy

Cuisine: Trinidadian

Type: Dessert 

Time: 1hr 40mins
Serves: 15

Skill: Easy

Kid Participation: Some

Ingredients
¾ c            wholewheat flour
2 ¼ c         white flour
150g          butter and shortening (approx 9tb) cold
¼tsp          salt
1c              or more ice cold water

1 c             currants
½ c            sugar
¼ tsp         cinnamon
2tb             butter (soft for brushing) or more
                  Sugar for sprinkling (optional)


Procedure

1.    Put the wholewheat flour, white flour and salt in a large enough bowl and combine.
2.    Make sure your 150g of butter and shortening is very cold so that you can cut it into small cubes with a knife or a pastry blender.  If after you have reduced all the butter and shortening to cubes it starts to melt, place it back in the fridge or freezer to cool and becomes solid again before continuing.
3.    Try to separate the cubes of butter/shortening when you take it out the fridge and cut it into the flour until the mixture resembles peas.

4.    Pour in some of the cold water and mix adding more water until the mixture is moistened. Form the above mixture into a ball by kneading gently for a minute. Put this ball into the fridge and refrigerate for 30 mins.
5.    While the dough is in the fridge mix the currants together with the sugar and cinnamon.
6.    Divide the cold dough into three equal portions and make each portion into a ball.

7.    Roll out a ball of dough into a 30cm × 25cm rectangle and approx 3mm thick.  
8.    Brush the top of the dough with butter and sprinkle a third of the currant sugar mixture evenly leaving a 1” border.
9.    Start at the shorter end of the dough and start rolling tightly. When you finish rolling the dough into a log pinch the ends closed.

10.    Repeat steps 7-9 with the remaining dough.
11.    Grease a cookie sheet and place the logs side by side. Bake at 350° for 45-60mins. 
12.    Brush with butter and sprinkle with sugar when cool. Cut diagonally to serve.