Traditional Bajan Recipes (Barbados)

If you were wondering about the word "Bajan", that is what Barbadians call themselves. After going on job interviews in this country and having people stare at the "Barbarian" I only write Bajan on employment forms. Saves a lot of misunderstandings.

Let's see if you can find similarities between our food and the rest of the Caribbean & Latin America. :lol:

Traditional Bajan Food

Foods of the West Indies

It's nice to learn about other countries, is it not? Im still learning alot about american cuisine. Ive developed a fondness for apple pie :)

Just thought I'd Post this here too :)

Bajan cooking is a simple fare. Not the intricate dishes and involved flavors that you will find at many of the island restaurants that claim to offer "local" food. Our food revolves around simplicity, what ingredients are at hand in that point in time and what substitues you can use if you do not. Every household stocks up on the basic staples: flour, sugar, rice, peas and salt. There is also a cache of ingredients and products that are also stored in the kitchen after buying the staples: ketchup, tomato paste, gravy master, accent, Indian Head Curry Powder, Mello Cream (its like a baking/cooking margarine), shortening, Ecaf Mixed Essence, elbow macaroni, chow mein and canned mixed vegetables. There are farms all over Barbados and some still maintain a backyard vegetable garden. Most people will go to the supermarket once a month to buy about $100 or more worth of meat. Once upon a time, you would get chicken from someone who had them.

Sunday dinner was the most elaborate meal of the week. My grandmother would make soup; Lentil with Ham (a substitute would be pigtail or trotters), Fish soup, Green/Yellow Splitpea Soup or Vegetable soup with chunks of pumpkin and that was just the starter. The main dish could be anything from Fried Chicken, Baked Chicken, Stewed Chicken, Fried Flying Fish (which I spent most of my time cleaning :( ), stewed beef and the list goes on. This would go with Rice & Peas which had still more variations. Pigeon Peas, Black-Eyed Peas, Cow Peas....the list goes on. We had three staple side dishes that are made at dinner throughout the week; coleslaw, a plain salad and pickled cucumber. Other people make potato salad along with these but my grandmother usually just did those three. For drinks we would grab the Coconut Man right before dinner was to be served and mix the water with a full 2 liter soda, to "stretch it a little" as my grandmother always said. Other drinks would be Carrot Juice, Beet Juice (always made me sick...hated that stuff) Plain Coconut Water or Passion Fruit Drink. I was in charge of picking the passion fruit that grew on the vines in our backyard. Dessert would be when the ice cream man or the Snow Cone came around. Or our parents would take us for a walk into town for fresh grapes and pineapple. Cake was reserved for special occasions although my grandmother did make Pone on some Sundays.

There are also dishes that we love that are not made very frequently. These are more reserved for Christmastime. For example, Pudding and Souse. Pudding is made by making a puree of cooked sweet potato (our sweet potato is the purple skinned one in the Spanish Store) and spices then stuffing this into a pig intestine. The Souse is pickled Pigs Ears and Tails with minced onion, salt, pepper, chopped cucumber and a few splashes of hot sauce.

Bajan Black Pudding

Grated Sweet Potato
A little bit of brown sugar (preferably the kind from the Asian Markets or West Indian Markets..see Flatbush)
Thyme
Burnt Sugar Coloring
Finely Chopped Onion
Finely Chopped Hot Pepper
Finely Chopped Chives*
Little bit of butter for moisture

Mix together well and stuff intestines to make sausage. Don't stuff the skins too full, about half way or 3/4 is good, since they will expand when cooked. Tie off the ends with kitchen cord and coil sausage at the bottom of pot. Cook in plain water till done.

Note: You can use Shallots or Scallions in place of Chives.

Lil bit of History: This is a variation on Haggis. We have scots on the island and you can hear a little scottish when Bajan's speak. Especially when said Bajan is cussing you into next Sunday. :D We like to say "shite" alot.

Here is where you will find the substitutions:

Burnt Sugar Flavoring is the substitution for the Pig's Blood and Sweet Potato is the substitution for the Millet or grain called for in the original recipe.


Souse

Pig Ears or Pig Feet or Pig Tail or Pig Snout or a variety of any
Piece of Pork chopped fine
Grated Cucumber
Lime Juice
Salt to taste
Finely Chopped Hot Pepper
Finely Chopped Onion
Shredded Parsley Leaf (not alot mainly for garnish)

Boil Pig Ears and pork in plain water until done, (you do not have to season the water since you will be pickling the pig), making sure to skim away the scum while cooking. Drain water and rinse well. Cool and refrigerate. Must be cold when you put then in the pickle.

Mix all other ingredients together in a bowl. Slice Pig Ears into ribbons. All pieces should be around bite size. Add Pig Ears and Pork to the bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight. This must be refrigerated for a few hours before you can eat it.

These two recipes are served together as Puddin' n Souse....

Jodi

BTW: These are my personal recipes in case anyone was worrying about copyright etc. Ive said this on the other board Im on....there are no accurate measurements in bajan cooking. We just cook.

It is?? Lucky you! :D I always ask my mum to get me some when she takes a trip to brooklyn.

In depth Information on Curry Powder

It's basically a pre-made spice mix.

Ooops :blush:.....sorry thought you were asking what curry was. :blush: Indian Head Curry is a brand of curry. It comes in a plastic package with an Indian Head on it. It is used by many West Indians....well...Indian Head and Ecaf brands....and can be found in most Asian markets in Brooklyn. :) Hope this helps. Maybe Kimmie can tell us where in Montreal she found the Indian Head Curry.

Yes...I read this. I also looked up the article on Plantain. Maybe one day Ill buy a subscription to Sauver. Until then....Ill keep reading their online version. :)

Does anyone know if Food Arts has a website? I keep getting Food & Wine.