Callaloo

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Amaranth

Taro

Xanthosoma

This article is about Caribbean soup sometimes called pepperpot. For the colonial soup made with tripe, see Philadelphia Pepper Pot.

For other uses, see Callaloo (disambiguation).

Callaloo (sometimes calaloo) is a Caribbean dish that is most popular in Guyana, Barbados, Grenada, Haiti, Dominica, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. The main ingredient is a leaf vegetable, traditionally either amaranth (known by many local names including callaloo or bhaaji), or taro or Xanthosoma species (both known by many names including callaloo, coco, tannia, or dasheen bush). Because the leaf vegetable used in some regions may be locally called "callaloo" or "callaloo bush", some confusion can arise among the different vegetables and with the dish itself. Outside of the Caribbean, water spinach is occasionally used.

Jamaicans use the name callaloo to refer to amaranth, and use it in a plethora of dishes and also a drink ('callaloo juice'). Jamaicans also make a soup called Pepperpot Soup from the vegetable.

[edit] Plant sources for Callaloo leaves

Taro - also called dasheen in the West Indies the leaves of this root crop are used in the Trinidadian version of the dish
Tannia or Malanga called calalu in Puerto Rico
Amaranth species include Amaranthus spinosus used in the West Indies; A. flavus is a yellow variety used in Brazil and known as caruru
Pokeweed species, Phytolacca octandra or "West Indian foxglove" (no relation to garden foxglove, species Digitalis)
Nightshade species, Solanum nodiflorum
Water spinach, Ipomoea aquatica (a form of morning-glory)

Callaloo is almost always made with okra and dasheen or water spinach Ipomoea aquatica. There are many variations of callaloo which may include coconut milk, crab, Caribbean lobster, meats, chili peppers, and other seasonings such as chopped onions and garlic. The ingredients are added and simmered down to a somewhat slimy (from the okra) soup or stew consistency. When done, callaloo is dark green in color and is served as a soup or a side dish which may be used as a gravy for other food.

Callaloo is widely known throughout the Caribbean mainly in Trinidad & Tobago and has a distinctively Caribbean origin, created by African slaves using ideas of the indigenous people along with both African (okra) and indigenous (Xanthosoma) plants. Trinidadians have embraced this dish, from their ancestors and over time have added ingredients such as coconut milk to improve its excellence. Callaloo is mostly served as a side dish, for Trinidadians it usually accompanies rice, macaroni pie, and a meat of choice.