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Today we are landing on letter G and I chose Grenada for G,
I have heard ofCaribbean Island in “PiratesofCaribbean” and in books but thiswas the first am cooking anCaribbeanfood though..As you all be knowing there are 6 small island in theCaribbeansea and one among them is Grenadait is located next to Trinidad and Tobago . Grenada is known for its island spices as it is high is producing Nutmeg and mace.It has some french andAfricaninfluence in its culture.
Thespecialtydishes in grenada shows itdiversity. Here some of theIndianshave migrated and so cuisine also has some influence with India. Like they havecurriesor stew prepared with turmeric , peppers,coconut milk like we do in India.Oil Down is one of the National dish of grenada for which they use Bread fruit which is anindigenousvariety I just used Potato here you can also use Yucca/ cassavainstead. I really don’t know reason y its called oil down I suppose they add very little oil to make them.It is super rich stew and taste yumm !!.. As there is a lot of Indian crowd there obvious is the Indian street foodsavailabilityin grenada, they have aloo pie, Dal puri barfiavailable. So in life at some point in time if we land in grenada I can serve there as there is plenty of option for Indian food lovers. Also one of the famous cake prepared there is asuper flavorful one I adapted the recipe from food.com.The cake it self very aromatic with all spices added you keep smelling it all the time after you bake, the aroma was wonderful.
The Oil down is complete version for vegetarians which i adapted from here. This is the national dish and most popular in the Island. It smells and taste I our Indian curry , you can actually add curry pdinsteadofturmeric and red chilli pd to it. The second Dish is a super soft and aromatic cake which was too gud and we enjoyed it. I hope all wud have done this in school day we had a Puliyanga Maram ( Tamarind tree) in our school , my friends used to throw stones over the puliayangas ( tamarind) so that they fall down and we used o pick them all peel then and enjoy those tangy delights fresh from the tree , that was a nostalgic moments, ourchildrenwill never get the days Like we had isn’t it, they are so overprotected by us andambiancewe live now a days.Speakingabout Tamarind in grenada Tamarind balls are very popular and they just are made of two ingredients fresh tamarind and sugar thats it.
Peel off the hard skin from the 4-5 tamarind add 2 tbsp or more of sugar and mix them well. Remove the seeds as you are mixing and make them to equal size balls. Roll them over with sugar and enjoy.
Khatta Meetha delight…
Oil Down
Recipe Category | Preparation time | Cook time |
|---|---|---|
Stew | 15 mins | 15 mins |
Ingredients
Potato – 1 No
Carrot – 1 No
Spinach a handful – Chopped
Celery stalk – 2
Onion- 1 No
Oil – 1 tbsp
Red chilli pd – 1/2 tsp
Turmeric pd – 1/4 tsp
Coconut Milk – 1 cup
Water as needed
Caribbean Dumplings – Recipe below
Salt to taste
Caribbean Dumplings
All purpose Flour – 1/2 cup
Cornmeal – 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
warm water as needed
Method
- In a bowl add flour, cornmeal, salt and mix them well.
- Add warm water little by little and make soft dough.
- Let it rest for 10 mins and divide the dough to equal parts.
- Make dumpling by pressing them in between your palms. They don’t have to be perfect in shape.
- Shape and cover them keep it aside till the stew is getting ready.
- In a sauce pan heat oil add onion and saute them till translucent.
- Add chopped celery and saute them well.
- Add carrot and potato saute them well till they are soft.
- Add spinach and mix them till they shrink.
- Now Add little water, turmeric pd, red chilli pd ,coconut milk and the dumplings.
- Cook the stew till it thickens and the dumpling are well done .
- Add salt as needed and Mix them well.
- Cook them for a while and the stew should combine well.
- Serve them with any bread or have it as is.
Grenadian Spice Cake
Recipe Category | Preparation time | Cook time |
|---|---|---|
Cakes | 15 mins | 20-30 mins |
Ingredients
All purpose flour – 1 cup
Baking pd – 1/4 tsp
Salt a pinch
White sugar – 3/4 cup
Butter – 1/2 cup or 1 stick ( softened )
Lemon zest – 1/4 tsp
Nut meg – 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon – 1/4 tsp
Clove pd – 1/4 tsp ( optional)
Egg replacer – 1 tbsp
Milk- 1/4 cup
Method
- Grease a cake pan and preheat the oven at 350 F.
- In a bowl Mix butter and sugar till it well combined.
- Add Egg replacer diluted in 2 tbsp water, lemon zest, cinnamon pd, nutmeg, salt.
- Mix them and combine them well.
- Sift flour and baking powder and mix in the bowl.
- Add milk little by little and make the cake batter, if the cake batter too thick you can add extra milk if needed.
- Pour the prepared batter in the cake pan and bake it for 30-40 mins till the top turns light brown and if a tooth pick inserted should come out clean.
- Cool the pan on a cooling rack for 5-10 mins and then transfer the cake to the serving plate.
- Dust some powdered sugar and I used star fruit for garnish here.
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Varadas Kitchen saysYou have picked some of the most interesting recipes from this cuisine and they are all so well done and presented. Just looking at the tamarind balls brings the khatta meetha taste in my mouth
- Jayanthi Sindhiya says
Hi,your photos are too good,especially cake with star fruit is amazing.
a very new a different recipe to me dear 🙂
- Archana Potdar says
Mmmmm! I am drooling here. Especially at the flavours for the tamarind makes wish I could eat them rt now.
- The Yogi Vegetarian says
Those recipes look yummy,will try out that cake and oil down, thanks
- Srivalli says
Wow all the three dishes are stunning..imagine that tamarind balls!..very nice..and the cake looks so good..
- Priya Suresh says
Very interesting country choice, that tamarind balls makes me drool, oil down recipe sounds almost like our Ghatta na, would love to have a slice of that spice cake, beautifully done Manju.
- Sapana Behl says
Omg , i want those tamarind balls right now …so tempting ! Love all the recipes of yours..
- Padmajha PJ says
Very different choice of country and all the dishes look so good.I love those tamarind balls…
- Ramya Venkateswaran says
yummy yummy
- Usha Rao says
You picked a cuisine I am totally unaware of. I have heard of Grenada but did not much about the food. Now I am curious to know why it is called oil down. Nicely presented spice cake and the tamarind balls remind me off the khata metha balls sold on the street side near the school. Great job again with the choice of dishes and the cuisine.
- Sangeetha M says
Very new kind of dishes manju, the tamarind balls makes me drool, cake and the stew also sounds yummy and neat presentation dear! Eppadi unnala mattum ippadi mudiyuthu?! keep rocking!!
- Harini-Jaya R says
I am totally sold on the spice cake ..Beautifully presented as well. The tamarind balls sure brings out so many memories from childhood!
- Suma Gandlur says
Everything looks so inviting, especially the scrumptious cake. That vegetable dish has such a unique name. i could not believe that oil down is a dish name. Tamarind balls sound like something khatta meetha.
- Pavani N says
What a collection of unique and interesting dishes from Grenada. I saw a chef making tamarind balls on food network and wondered how they would taste. Your tamarind balls turned out just like truffles 🙂
- Gayathri Kumar says
Wow, such a great array of authentic dishes. My most fav among thses is the tamarind balls. Must have been quite tangy. The cake looks adorable and the curry looks like our Indian curry. Yumm!!
- Shama Nagarajan says
yummy delights,,,
- Chef Mireille says
since my grandmother is from an island close by Dominica foods are similar and I grew up eating all of these and in fact breadfruit oil down is something I make often. Hope you liked everything
- The Pumpkin Farm says
a visual treat…simply put..lovely looking spread Manjula, nothing short expected of you either
- vaishali sabnani says
Wow…I love these tamarind balls..they remind me of the imli balls we get here..a must try and now on my to do list.
The rest of the dishes look appealing too, though most of the stuff is unheard and new. - Priya Srinivasan says
Oh those tamarind balls immediately bring that tangy taste to my mouth!!! Lovely dishes, oil down recipe is very interesting!! 🙂
