Auntie Jean's Pelau

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken, cut up in bite size pieces  (no skin )
• salt, pepper to taste
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 3 stalks of chive, chopped
• 1 stalk thyme, chopped ( substitute with dried thyme, if necessary)
• 2 tablesps. oil for frying
• 1 tablesp. brown sugar
• 2 cups cleaned and washed rice
• 1 can pigeon peas, drained
• 1 tablsp. soy sauce
• 1 green hot pepper
• 2 cups thick coconut milk ( if possible, freshly made )

Method

1) Season chicken pieces with salt, pepper, garlic, chive, thyme and marinate over night, or at least for one hour
2) In iron pot heat up oil, add sugar and brown until the sugar has turned into a rich brown syrup.
3) Add meat to the pot and cook for about 5 mins. until meat is brown on all sides.
4) Add a small portion of water and cook meat for about 20 mins.
5) Add drained can of pigeon peas.
6) Add soy sauce and toss up.
7) Add cleaned rice and stir well.
8) Cover with coconut milk ( may have to add some water).
9) Float green hot pepper on top ( do not burst pepper ) and simmer on slow fire until rice is cooked.
( you may have to add a little water from time to time ) and stir pelau in between. Water has to evaporate completely, but rice has to be cooked, not hard.

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Pat's Jamaican Ital Stew
(Ital stews are devoid of meat and salt)

Ingredients:
 

• I cup kidney beans
• 4 quarts water/coconut cream (or use coconut milk, i.e., grated coconut blended with water and strained, reserving milk)
• dumplings (dough made with 1 cup flour & water and rolled in strips)
• scallion
• thyme
• onions
• Scotch bonnet pepper ( hot )

Method:

1) Cook kidney beans in water or coconut milk until soft.

2) Add dumplings, scallions and thyme - cook until dumplings are done and liquid is thickened.

3) Add whole pepper about 15 minutes before end of cooking time. (Add some salt to taste - if you don't want it to be strictly ital)

Serve over white rice.

You can substitute  kidney beans with pigeon or lentil peas or use chick pea and curry and other spices like ginger, nutmeg, turmeric, etc. for variation in taste).

Serves 4
 

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Oil Down

Ingredients
 
 

• 1 Breadfruit

• 1/2 lb salted pigtail, cut into 2 inch pieces

• 1 hot green pepper ( whole )

• 1 onion, chopped small

• 1 bunch chives, chopped small

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1 leaf chadon bene, cut up finely

• salt if necessary

• thick coconut milk ( preferable freshly made, but unsweetened canned or frozen can be used too)

Method

1) Boil salted pigtail in water until soft, then discard that water

2) Peel and seed breadfruit and cut into wedges of about 1 1/2 inch thickness lengthways

3) Add breadfruit to boiled pigtail and cover with 1 cup of water

4) Add 2 cups of coconut cream

5) add chive, onion, chadon bene, garlic and whole green hot pepper

6) Add salt if necessary

7) Boil until liquid has b(oiled) down reduced and the breadfruit is soft, but not falling apart
 

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Marsha's Trini Pelau

Ingredients:

2 cups Rice
2 lbs chicken or beef (seasoned), cut up small
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or margarine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
4 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon of sugar or 1 tablespoon caramel browning
1/4 cup minced onions
(pigeon peas optional)
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
1/4 cup celery stalks
1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
1 hot pepper (green)

Method:

Heat oil - Add sugar, and heat until black, (or use caramel browning).

Add seasoned chicken.

Stir and cook for 10 minutes in covered saucepan over low heat.

Add onions, celery, finely chopped garlic, tomatoes (pigeon peas) and rice. Stir.

Add water, soy sauce and hot pepper (whole). Bring to a boil.

Covered saucepan for leave to cook, about forty minutes.

Serve with chutney, pepper sauce and other condiments.

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Marsha's Beef with Red beans and Rice 
 

(All measurements are approximated)

Ingredients:

1 lb beef chuck, cubed and seasoned with 
1 packet Goya Sazon seasoning or (seasong salt of your choice)
(cover and let meat marinate for at least 1/2 hr)

1 can red kidney beans or pinto beans
(wash beans and drain liquid)
2 cups Uncle Ben's Converted Rice 
(or any type of rice you like to use that won't overcook)
1 small carrot, peeled and sliced
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced
about 1/4 cup each of:
celery, sweet pepper (green or red), cilantro ( or  chadon beni ).
1 large tomato
2 tablespoons tomato paste (you can use ketchup)
(optional: 1 whole habanero pepper for floating on top)
Enough oil to cover the bottom of the pot/pan you're using.
1 tablespoon sugar (brown, preferably)
 

Method:
 

•  Heat oil in heavy-bottomed pot ( or traditional Trini iron pot ) (with tight lid), add sugar and heatuntil sugar has turned into a dark brown syrup
• ·Add meat quickly (don't get burned!) and coat meat in the browned sugar. Saute for a few  minutes until meat is brown on all sides
•  Add onions, celery, garlic, pepper, tomato and tomato paste and a bit of water so it doesn't stick. 
• Bring to a boil, cover pot and turn heat to low, let simmer till beef is almost cooked.
•  Stir in rice, add enough water so there's about an inch of water over the meat and rice.
• Put in habanero pepper whole so that it floats on the water, careful not to let it burst or it may be too hot for you!)
• Bring to a boil again, cover, reduce heat to simmer and let cook for about 15 mins.
•  Add carrots and beans, half the amount of chopped cilantro and let cook till rice is ready and beef is fork tender. The water should be absorbed by now. Sauce will thicken when pot is removed and allowed to cool.
• ·Add remaining cilantro and fluff rice mixture with fork.

• Serve warm with sliced avocado or fried plantains or watercress and ripe tomatoes.

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