Cuisine of Trinidad and Tobago

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The Cuisine of Trinidad and Tobago is indicative of the blends of Indian, Amerindian, European, African, Creole, Chinese and Lebanese gastronomic influences.

Curry Chicken

1 Fruits
2 Main meals
3 Deserts
4 Beverages
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Fruits

Fruits available on Trinidad include mangos (julie, vere, rose, calabash), breadfruit, sorrel (roselle), passion fruit, watermelons, sapodillas, pommeracs (malay apple), guavas, pommecythere, caimite, juicy "five-fingers" (carambola), zaboca (avocado pear), pawpaw (papaya), chenet, bananas, pine-apples, oranges, tangerines, Portugals, and coconuts

[edit] Main meals

[edit] Breakfast dishes

Many dishes are popular choices for the morning meal in Trinidad and Tobago. These dishes include: roti with salt fish, buljol or tomato choka, black pudding, fresh coconut bread, fried Accra, Tannia cakes, and boiled casava.

[edit] Lunch and dinner

A nationally well-known main dish of Trinidad and Tobago is curry chicken and roti. This dish was adopted from East Indian roots, where other favorite local dishes include: curry crab, curry shrimp, curry duck, curry aloo. These meals are often served with various roties such as dhalpouri, bus-up-shot, and of course sada. In addition, locals often add various pepper sauces to their meals such as curry mango, chataigne, channa, pumpkin, or mango kuchela.

Another very popular and nationally well-known dish is callaloo, a creamy and spicy side dish made of dasheen leaves, ochro or okra, crab, thyme, coconut milk and shado beni (from "chardon bénit," French thistle or Fitweed) or bhandhanya or cilantro. Callaloo is often prepared with cornmeal coo coo, plantain(type of fried banana), cassava, sweet-potatoes, and sometimes made with crab. Pelau, a rice-based dish, is also a popular dish in Trinidad and Tobago.

An array of fishes can be bought at local merchants all over the island, such as flying fish, king fish, carite, red fish, and bonito. Crab, lobster, conch and numerous common sea foods are found all over the island. These dishes are usually prepared stew, barbequed, or curried with coconut milk. Another popular dish includes the rare delicacy cascadu (cascadura), a small fresh water fish. There is a local legend in Trinidad that if you eat cascadu, you will return to Trinidad over and over and over again!!

Famous Shark N Bake sandwich at Maracas Beach

[edit] Street foods

Popular street foods include most importantly doubles, pholourie, bake and shark(maracas beach), souse, corn soup, and coconut slushies (at Debe Market).

[edit] Deserts

The popular local deserts paimie, pone and stewed guavas are sinfully sweet. Other local deserts include: sweetbread, paw paw balls,tamarind balls,toolum, guava cheese, jub jub and sugar cakes. Also the Indian delicacies like kurma, goolab jamon and barfi are very popular.

[edit] Beverages

There are many different national beverages in Trinidad. These include, various sweet drinks (sorrel, chubby, solo, and so on), portugal juice, ginger beer, mauby, malta, seemoss punch, barbadine punch, and soursop punch. Coconut water is found on almost every meter of the island. Rum shops are all over the island, serving local favourites such as ponche-de-crème, punchin - rum, and home-made wines from local fruits.