MUDDA- IN- LAW

Ah Ha!!! If you are not from Trinidad you are probably wondering what is Mudda in law???

Well Mudda-in-law (mother in law) is a chunky pepper sauce, this chunky pepper it is kinda like a salsa dip expect it is very hot. No one knows how the name arrived to Mudda in Law but based on common sense and Trini talk, The name was created probably from the attitudes of some mother in laws, hard to deal with and their mouth speaks fire.

Mudda in Law as most Trini knows it, is mostly used in East Indian dishes. Most times in Trinidad when you got to an east Indian wedding or prayer meeting the most and foremost thing that have to be available is Mudda in law. It is said that if you don't have Mudda in law in any of those events it is not an "Indian" feast, its almost an insult not to have Mudda in law in these events. 

Yes it is a big thing!!! A tradition of some sort.
As explained in my last post with the recipe for Murtani it is almost the same thing expect all the veges are raw in Mudda in law.

So lets get started on this simple and easy recipe of the great Mudda-in law.
*You can make as much as you like but this is very hot and you use it like pepper sauce. You can also make this as hot as you like by adding more pepper. These measurements are just an average.

Ingredients

1 Carile (bitter melon)

1 Cucumber

1 Carrot

1 Onion

1 Lime

5 Scotch bonnet Hot Pepper

Salt to taste

Method

Wash all vegetables. You can use a Food processor to make the cutting of these veges easier; but if you don't own a food processor you have to cut all these veges very fine to get the effect of the Mudda in law.

Cut both ends off the Carile and cut it horizontally down the middle and scrape out seeds.

Do not peel the Cucumber, Cut both ends off and cut horizontally down the middle ans scrape out seeds.

Peel Carrots and cut into strips.

Peel Onion and cut into strips as well.

Cut peppers in the food processor or with a knife and fork to avoid touching the pepper with your bare hands.

Cut all veges using a food processor or knife into small cube pieces and mix together in a bowl.

Cut lime in half and take out seeds. Squeeze the lime all over the veges and mix well.

Add Salt to taste.

And that's it folks, use as a pepper sauce to add extra flavor and fire to your meal.

Enjoy!!!

UPAR GAAR (MURTANI)

So nothing beats a Trini river lime!!! 

We all know as Trinis having a river lime means rum, pepper and curry and of course good people to make the lime interesting.

One of the main dishes in a river lime is none other than UPAR GAAR or some call it MURTANI.

This spicy choka is a mixture of bhigan choka and tomato choka blended together with a variety of other vegetables and of course the main one being PEPPER. HOT HOT HOT SCOTCH BONNET PEPPERS.

UPAR GAAR  is a traditional spicy choka that has been part of Trinidad culture for many years, it was thought up by the first East Indian settlers that came to Trinidad and over the years just like humans evolved so did the food.

So lets get started on this hot sizzling recipe of the famous UPAR GAAR.

*You can make as much as you want so that depends on the amount of veges you use okay. Here I'm just using an average, because remember this is hot so you will only use a little just like pepper sauce.

INGREDIENTS

1 Bhigan (melongene)

4 Tomatoes

4 Ochros

1 Onion (peeled)

1 head of Garlic (peeled)

1 lime

4 Scotch Bonnet Hot Peppers

5 tbsp Vegetable oil

Salt to taste

METHOD

Using a skewer or if the river you can use bamboo, skewer on the tomatoes, ochros, garlic, onion and peppers and put it to roast. The bhigan is quite big so you can roast that using a thongs. You can roast this either on your stove top or if in the river you have the famous fireside.

Roast all veges until its starts to char on the outside and soft on the inside. You need this to be soft on the inside so it will be easy to mash together.

In a Bowl combine all roasted ingredients and start mashing them together, you can mash them with a small pestle or any other kitchen tool of your choice that is easiest to mash this.  When all ingredients is mashed finely and combined nicely you are ready for the next step.

Cut lime in half and squeeze juice in the veges (remember to take the seeds out of the lime)

Mix together and add salt to taste.

In a Kalchul or Ladel or you can use a pot spoon, heat oil until it starts to sizzle then Chunkay the vege mixture. 

* Chunkay means to saute* 

In this case we just throwing the hot oil all over the roasted veges and stir well.

And thats it friends you have UPAR GARR. You can enjoy this with some nice dhal and rice and duck or any other curry dish of your choice. 

Hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Happy Cooking guys. 

CURRY CHICKEN WITH PIGEON PEAS

Hi fans this is a dish I always wanted to post Its a favorite of mine.

This dish was derived from the Indian classic curry recipes and after time it kinda made a twist in the cultures of Trinidad and Tobago. Its a zesty chatak recipe passed on from my great grand mother, this dish can be served with white rice or Roti (Indian Flat bread). In some of my other blogs i'll be posting the recipes for Roti and the different types that can be made. So lets start the recipe!!!

INGREDIENTS

1 WHOLE CHICKEN (cut into small pieces, wash and clean)

TRINI GREEN SEASONING:

 (shadow beni,chives, celery, pimento peppers, scotch bonnet pepper, garlic, thyme)

BLEND ALL INGREDIENTS TOGETHER

CURRY PASTE :

1 teaspoon in each spice (curry powder, saffron powder, geera powder, masala powder) add all spices in a small bowl and add small amounts of water to make a paste.

1 tin pigeon peas or you can use fresh pigeon peas or frozen pigeon peas (your choice)

Vegetable oil

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Using a cast iron pot, add vegetable oil and let the oil heat.

In a large bowl  add Trini House Seasoning to chicken and mix well with a spoon.

When the oil is heated add curry paste and and stir until curry is well coated in the oil, cook till the curry starts to stick to the bottom of the pot.

Add seasoned chicken to the curry mixture and stir till all the chicken is coated nicely with the curry.

Add about 1/2 cup of water and let chicken and curry mixture cook well. (this is to burn out the fresh bloody water from the chicken, so you get a nice clean taste from the chicken)

When water dries down add pigeon peas to the chicken and stir still the peas is well coated with the curry.

Add about 2 cups of water or until the chicken covers with water add salt and cover and let cook for about 15 minutes on medium heat.

Taste for salt. Serve. hot with a red scotch bonnet pepper for garnish.