Cooking up all this Trinidadian food made me think of V.S. Naipaul, the literary genius and Nobel prize winner who hailed from Trinidad, although he later became a British citizen.
Naipaul, like many of Trinidad’s natives, traced his roots further back to India– he was the descendant of indentured Indian laborers shipped into the Caribbean by the British colonizers (that’s why Caribbean food has strong overtones of Indian cuisine). I was a kid when Charu, who’s married to my cousin Neetu and who was a journalist for a Bombay newspaper, got the enviable job of interviewing Naipaul and accompanying him as the writer researched some of Bombay’s venues for a book.
Neetu’s sister, Maithili, was my best friend, and I’d spend a lot of time at their home. Every day Charu would return with stories that I don’t remember any more but which, I recall, dovetailed perfectly with Naipaul’s fame as a rude, cranky, egotistical and eccentric character. But there was no doubt that Charu was enjoying every minute he was spending with this legendary personality.
Just how lucky he’d been became clearer to me when I read my first Naipaul book (also Naipaul’s first): a short novel written in 1957, called The Mystic Masseur. The book was made into a movie some time in the last decade with Aasif Mandvi (the “brown guy” on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart) in the lead role and it was pretty good too.
Mystic Masseur remains, to date, my favorite Naipaul work because I’m a sucker for intelligent humor and irony, and this book has loads of it. The story centers around a Trinidadian of Indian origin, Ganesh, and the hilarious journey he makes from an unsuccessful masseur to a super-succesful mystic who “miraculously” heals people, to a politician.
What makes the book truly remarkable is the beauty of Naipaul’s writing, the delightful character of his words and how beautifully they capture the colloquialisms of the English spoken in Trinidad:
“My mother distrusted doctors and never took me to one. I am not blaming her for this because in those days people went by preference to the unqualified masseur or the quack dentist.
‘I know the sort of doctors it have in Trinidad,’ my mother used to say. `They think nothing of killing two three people before breakfast.’
This wasn’t as bad as it sounds: in Trinidad the midday meal is called breakfast.”
You could definitely have my Green Beans and Potato Curry for a Trinidadian breakfast, along with these delicious stuffed chickpea-stuffed rotis that I posted yesterday. Here’s the recipe, adapted from a Sri Lankan curry from World Vegetarian. Enjoy!
Looking for more tasty vegan Caribbean recipes?
Vegan Caribbean Bowl with Chickpea Curry, Roasted Plantains and Coconut Rice
Caribbean Black Eyed Peas Stew
Savory Black Eyed Peas Sweet Potato Pancakes
Green Beans and Potato Curry with Trinidadian Spices
Green Beans and Potato Curry with Trinidadian Spices
Ingredients
- 2 cups green beans (Preferably French cut. I used frozen)
- 2 medium potatoes (diced)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
- 1 large onion (finely chopped)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp ginger (grated)
- 2 serrano peppers (or jalapeno, minced. Adjust to more or less based on your preference for heat. Deseed for less heat)
- 2 tsp Trinidadian spice mix
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- Salt to taste
- Lemon juice to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil in a skillet. Add the curry leaves and onions and saute until the onions turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the garlic, ginger and green chillies and saute another minute.
- Add the green beans and stir-fry around 2 minutes. Now add the spice mix and turmeric and stir to coat the vegetables.
- Add the coconut milk along with 1/2 cup of water, the potatoes and salt to taste. Bring the curry to a boil over medium heat, then cover, lower the heat, and allow it to simmer for 15 minutes or until all the veggies are tender.
- Stir in the lime juice.
- Serve hot with Stuffed Rotis or with any flatbread.
Nutrition
The curry looks tasty…little bit different for me with the coconut milk…the Trinidadian spice mix sounds interesting…I have to try it 🙂
Very flavorful and delicious curry.
Nice recipe…and a great prolog to it..
FYI, recently heard there is a new biography on Naipaul and supposedly portrays a real picture of his egoistical masochistic self…
Addition of Trinidadian spices to curry sounds very fabulous…
The curry looks yummy! Will try it out soon! I was never found of Naipaul much, but yes, this book is different. I could read through this one, but many of his other books go unread half way. My dad loves his books though!
Love Naipaul’s writings although I just read one-A bend in the river!Your curry looks delicious, Vaishali:)
I love Naipaul and I love Trini food so this post was just amazing for me, thank you so much! Your blog really is a treasure, I love every post. Please keep up the good work and delicious cooking!
I remember reading ‘Bend in the River’ for a class a while back. I liked it, but I can’t recall much of what it was about. I have another one of his books somewhere on my bookshelf. I’ll have to dig it up. Thanks for the recipe!
Not only do I get to learn a new recipe, I get to learn history and some general knowledge about the place, this time Trinidad.
The spice mixture is very versatile and a good one Vaishali.
Stuffed rotis, I love, but this Trinidadian spice mix is interesting. Lots of interesting influences in this dish, I think.
I’m afraid Naipaul isn’t exactly one of my favourites. 🙁
Wow! makes me drool……
Something different..sounds very flavorful
Wow, this was an interesting post! The curry looks wonderful.
I just wrapped up testing of Trinidadian roti skins for my book about a week and a half ago and then you post a recipe. Thats great. Mine is totally different anyways. I always make Trinidadian curries at home but I started to fall for the coconut milk ones. Oh I am having a giveaway on my blog.
Wow, that looks fantastic!