I have been lucky enough in my life to have had the chance to do a bit of traveling. One of my favorite place so far has got to be the beautiful West Indian island nation of Grenada. It’s wonderful. The people are laid back and happy, they have amazing jungles, waterfalls and beaches, and the culture is as colourful and vibrant as the place itself.
And then there’s the food…
The food of Grenada is very close to my heart. Luckily for me, and for anyone who’s sailed aboard the Picton Castle over the last six or so years, the ship is blessed with a magnificent cook (and friend and crew mate) Donald, who is from Grenada. I will never forget my first morning onboard. Waking up in my bunk cold and still culture shocked from having just left a cushy city life to join the crew of a tallship. It was a drizzly spring morning in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. I pulled on my long johns and nearly every layer of clothing that I had, and headed for breakfast…to be met by a steaming bowl of hot porridge spiced with the flavours of the West Indies. Oh my heavens. It was on that morning that I truly understood the saying “warming the cockles of your heart.”
Beyond legendary, heart-cockle warming porridge though Donald has a whole repertoire of spicy, delicious and intriguing food, my favourite of which was his West Indian curry. All over the West Indies there are roti shops selling various curries wrapped in delicious flatbread. This is the main street food of the region, and is amazing. On the ship, Donald always made vegetarian roti, and served it wrapped in tortillas. It was my absolute favourite meal during my time on board and , much to the chagrin of some of my meat-eating ship mates, I frequently managed to convince Donald to cook it if he was in two minds about what to make.
I tried on several occasions to get Donald to tell me his recipe, but he never would. It think that it’s so much a part of him that a recipe doesn’t really come into it. He just knows how it should be, and never fails to create perfection.
My effort turned out well, but obviously could never compete with Donald’s, I must say. I’ve made mine with a denser flat bread for dipping rather than rolling just as a variation, but you could wrap it in tortillas, or even better, whip up some authentic West Indian roti to go along with it…your life will be forever changed.
So this West Indian curry with flat breads is my homage to Donald, Grenadian cuisine, memories of life at sea, and to the beautiful West Indies.
- 1Tbsp oil
- 1 medium brown onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 Tbsp curry powder
- 1tsp ground cumin
- 1tsp of salt plus seasoning to taste
- 2 medium potatoes, cubed
- 200g cooked chickpeas, rinsed
- 100g frozen peas, or fresh if you prefer
- A small handful of fresh parsley or coriander, snipped.
- 300g whole wheat flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 200 g plain yogurt
- Place the potatoes in a medium pot with 1/2 Tbsp of the curry powder and the tsp of the salt. Bring it to the boil, lower the heat, cover and leave them to simmer for about 10-15 minutes until just cooked. Drain and set aside.
- Over medium heat, in a large pot, heat the oil and then cook the onion until it’s translucent. Add the spices and stir for a further minute until the spices are aromatic.
- Add the cooked potatoes, chickpeas and peas and stir well to thoroughly coat with the spices. Leave it to cook, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes, adding a splash of water if it’s getting too dried out, until everything is hot and the flavours have developed, season to taste.
- Meanwhile, to make the flat breads, mix together the flour and baking soda with a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Add the yogurt and mix well and then turn it out onto the counter top and knead it until it forms a fairly firm, smooth dough.
- Heat a griddle on a medium hot stove.
- Once the dough is ready and the griddle hot pinch off large handfuls of the dough, roll them into balls and then roll them out with a rolling pin as thinly as you can.
- Place them one or two at a time on the hot griddle and allow to cook about 5 minutes on each side, until they’re fairly dark golden brown and slightly crispy on the outside. Keep them warm in a warm oven as you prepare the rest.
- Once everything is ready sprinkle the fresh herbs over the curry and serve hot along with the breads.