Boiled Channa, Simple Guyanese Peasant Food

I always preach on Guyanese food being the food of poor people with limited resources. Meat was expensive. Fresh imports were not available. You had dried goods, canned foods, and whatever you could grow locally. There is fish and seafood, but again, either you catch it (effort and time) or you can buy it (again, expensive to use on a regular basis). 

One thing that is overlooked but so typically guyanese is channa, or as the rest of the world knows it, chick peas or garbanzo beans. You go to a prayers and you get channa curry. You go to a rumshop and you may get fried channa. And if you go to a wake, you may get boiled channa. It's easy and relatively cheap and quintessentially Guyanese for all races and religions. You will never find it in a restaurant, you will never have it for Christmas or Easter dinner. It is the most humble of foods.

I remember serving this when my grandparents died. I also remember eating this on a weekend while I was studying at home. I cannot pinpoint it to a specific time and place, but it is a memory of my childhood and part of my comfort now. It is both healthy and filling. As I'm writing this I wonder why I don't eat this on a regular basis? Alistair, your allergies keep me on my toes; sometimes you react to channa, sometimes you don't. If it weren't for your love of pepper, I would wonder how Guyanese you really are! I hope you can eat this as you grow older. It's one of those things that you can whip up anytime. I keep at least six cans of channa in the pantry and stock up as needed, because if I'm in a pinch, I can make something if needed.

Boiled channa is the easiest (and the only one I make) Guyanese preparations of channa. I would eat a bowl on its own. If you were to make channa curry, then you would eat it with roti, but not rice. I don't make these rules, they have evolved over time by Guyanese people who must have figured out the best combinations. 

So through social distancing before I get some free time back with having to cook every single meal at home for every single person every single day, yeah, I will likely make boiled channa before we return to me wanting to actually cook.

IMAGE COMING SOON!

Ingredients:
Channa (chick peas)		1 can or 1 cups dried and rehydrated
Onion		1 medium - large, chopped
Garlic		6 cloves, minced
Cumin		1/4 tsp, ground (optional)
Black Pepper		1 tsp, ground
Sea Salt		1 tsp
Canola Oil		2 tbsp
Water		1/4 cup
Green Onion / Bandanya		chopped to garnish (optional)

Preparation:

1. Re-hydrate the dried channa overnight with water and baking soda. If using tinned channa you need not hydrate. for both, Drain and rinse in a sieve thoroughly until the water runs clear. 
2. In a medium size pot, heat the canola oil on medium heat.
3. Saute the onions and garlic until they are translucent.
4. If you want the bite of the cumin, add it now. it should colour the onions and garlic and become aromatic very quickly. It is important that you cook it through to bring out all it's seasoning power without burning it. Keep an eye on it, because if you walk away it will burn.
5. Add the channa and black pepper and turn the heat up to medium high.
6. Quickly stir well to coat everything. As the heat comes back up to strength you will hear the change in the pot within minutes.
7. Timing is now very important. with the temperature still on medium-high, add the water and sea salt, then stir quickly. 
8. Cover with a lid and reduce the heat to medium low. 
9. Let the channa simmer gently for 15 minutes. Check and stir occasionally to make sure it does not burn and the texture remains creamy. Add a little more water if it seems to get too dry, but not enough where you can see liquid. You don't want it soupy, but you don't want it dry and chalky either.
10. When the channa is soft enough to crush with little pressure it is done. I like to add a maririri pepper to the pot when I add the channa, but you kids aren't ready for that yet, so I just add peppersauce until you guys are all grown up and ready for more heat.
11. Garnish with herbs if you prefer and have any on hand.

Cook Up Rice

We don't keep a lot of parboiled rice in the house now that I'm married to a Filipino with Pinoy kids. We mostly eat long grain rice, Rooster to be exact. I have no problem with it but you cannot use it for some Guyanese dishes. Now that we are in quarantine it has been difficult to get Guyanese food I wouldn't have to make myself, because mom isn't a short drive away. So I asked Enrique to pick up a bag of Mr Goudas parboiled rice when he made these quest-worthy grocery runs so I could make a pot of cook up rice.

My grandmother and my mother made the best cook up. My mother adds pigtail. This is the absolute best. I love pigtail. It's delicious. Most people don't know how to cook it and they are missing out. If you can get the butcher to chop it up in the store then it's little work to wash and clean before you cook. If you want (as I did in the picture below) you can cook it without any meat and have it bare or with meat on the side. This dish is not picky. My mom uses kidney beans, but I prefer to leave them out. As you continue to make it, you will find the combination that best suits you.

I had no worries that you would like this, Alexis. Alistair, on the other hand, I know you are picky and your allergies give you an aversion to any beans or peas. But somehow, the flavour and texture of the rice outweighed the texture of the peas and he ate the whole bowl. I couldn't be happier. My kids have a bit of Guyanese in them still.

So through social distancing I resorted to cooking a staple that my mother always made for me and it turned out to be delicious. Now if I can only get my hands on some pigtail I'm set.

Ingredients:
Parboiled Rice		2 cups
Black Eye Peas		1 can, rinsed
Pigeon Peas		1 can, rinsed
Salt Beef / Pigtail / Chicken		1 lb, washed and cut into 1" pieces
Coconut Milk or Coconut Cream		1 can Milk or 1/2 block of cream, chopped
Onion		1 large, diced
Garlic		1 head, sliced
Marmite		2 tbsp
Chicken Bullion		1 cube / 1 tbsp
Thyme		3 sprigs fresh or 2 tbsp dried
Dried Basil		2 tbsp
Bay Leaf		2-3
Black Pepper		1 tsp, ground
Sea Salt		1 tbsp
Canola Oil		2 tbsp
Water		8 cups

Preparation:

1. Clean, wash and chop meat (salt beef, pigtail or chicken) into 1" pieces. Soak and rinse the salt beef or pigtail until they are clear of the brine.
2. Wash the rice until it the water runs clear.
3. In a large pot, heat canola oil on medium heat. 
4. Saute the onions, garlic, thyme, basil and bay leaf until they are translucent.
5. Add the washed rice and stir to coat, toasting it lightly in the oil and spices for a few minutes until the rice looses opacity.
6. Add the meat and stir until it has mixed with the rice. 
7. Add the black eye peas and pigeon peas, and stir well. Do not let the rice burn at the bottom of the pot! Slightly over medium heat should work, but lower it if needed until you are ready to add the water.
8. While making sure the contents of the pot do not burn, add the last ingredients before adding any liquid (the chicken bullion, marmite, black pepper, and sea salt). 
9. If you are using coconut cream instead of coconut milk, add it now. 
10. Turn the heat up to medium high and stir this in until the marmite has coated everything. If it seems sparse add a little more; this is where you will get the bulk of the colour and the flavour.
11. With the heat up, pour in the coconut milk (if you are not using coconut cream).
12. Pour in the water and stir well.
13. Half cover the pot so steam can escape and turn the heat down to medium. If the heat is too high and the pot is covered, the food will scorch at the bottom of the pot.
14. Let the rice simmer gently for 20-30 minutes. Check and stir occasionally to make sure the rice does not burn and the liquid is distributed. Do not stir often, or your rice will end up mushy.
15. When there is no liquid left and the texture appears coated but not dry, the rice is done. Turn off the heat, preferably take the pot of the heat, and leave the lid cracked open. Covered will steam and clump the food, and open will let too much heat out.
16. I like to add a couple whole peppers, but you kids would not eat so I add pepper to my dish alone. If you want to add peppers, I suggest adding them whole after adding the water, and breaking them up once the cook up has finished cooking.

Jerk Seasoning and Jerk Pork or Chicken, or, Why I Miss Jamaica

It is a seasoning, a way of cooking, and results in a delicious gravy, but it is not a sauce.

It is a process.When done right it is absolutely delicious. It is difficult to recreate in a kitchen, but I have done it many times and I will explain how I do it below.

First, I must credit the seasoning to a Jerk Master who works in Jamaica. The first bite I ever had of this jerk chicken, I was on the beach, with your dad, and after a day of swimming, this was the perfect thing. I just love that your father can handle his pepper.

This Jerk Master would hook us up and cover the chicken with gravy. I used to buy seasoning from him every time I went to visit, but no one knows where he is anymore. This is his recipe, and while I guard it, I share it with those who will do it justice. So to my babies, I hope one day you will enjoy the spicier side of life and try to make this for those you love. Maybe this is TMI, but jerk anything is a key to the heart. Use this to make anyone fall in love with you.

Here is the seasoning and recipe. Tread carefully. Seriously. Put on some gloves or something. You don't want to touch your eyes after making this.

I believe this is the guy who made the best jerk, and these are the barrels he cooked on.

Jerk Seasoning 

Garlic		1 head / 12 cloves
Onion		3 medium, diced
Green Onion		4 stalks
Scotch Bonnet		6-8 peppers
Ginger (fresh)		1 knob (2")
Soy Sauce		1/4 cup
Brown Sugar		1/4 cup
Thyme		10 stalks (strip the leaves)
Canola Oil		1/4 cup
Caramel/Browning (Grace)		2 tbsp
Allspice		8 berries (freshly ground)
Black Pepper		2 tbsp (freshly ground)
Cinnamon		1/2 tsp (freshly ground)
Nutmeg (allergy optional!)		1/2 tsp (freshly ground)

Jerk Seasoning Preparation:

1. Roughly chop all the ingredients for the seasoning.
2. Throw all the ingredients to a blender. If your blender is not glass, it will hold the scent and flavour of these ingredients. Also, a food processor will do just fine if that's what you prefer.
3. In a saucepan, cook down the mixture on a very low simmer for about 40 minutes to an hour. 
4. Continuously check and stir, make sure it hasn't scorched. Once scorched, you cannot recover and it will always taste 'burned'.
5. Jar the excess and keep in the fridge. You will use it up before it can ever go bad, but in the fridge it should keep for about a year.

Jerk Recipe (Pork or Chicken) Preparation:

1. Wash all your meat (I use pork shoulder, most people use chicken).
2. Pat the meat dry and take out the days aggression by stabbing it repeatedly. This is what makes jerk jerk. You are creating pockets for deliciousness.
3. In a produce bag, place the meat and the seasoning. For each pound of meat I add one cup of seasoning.
4. Remove the air and tie the bag, massaging the seasoning into the meat so that it is entirely coated.
5. Rest the meat in the fridge. Overnight is preferred, but a few hours will do. You will be happy if you give it the full day to marinate. 
6. Let the meat come to room temperature before cooking. If it is summer and you can grill outside, this is the best and most authentic way to enjoy! 
7. If it is winter, raining, or you are not in the mood for outdoor grilling, do this in the oven. Set the oven for 330 (pork shoulder) or 370 (chicken or fish).
8. Put the meat in a roasting dish and in the oven, 2 hours for the pork shoulder and 45 minutes for the chicken.
9. For the pork shoulder, after 2 hours, crank the heat up to 380 for another 20-30 minutes until the meat starts to colour nicely.
10. Take the meat out and test for doneness... let it rest to redistribute the juices. This should be about 15 minutes.
11. Slice before serving. Some like it on rice or with hard dough bread, but I eat it just so! Oh, and you can thicken the cooking liquid (be sure to drain off the fat!) to serve as the gravy.
12. I recommend a cold beer. Red Stripe if you can get it. Enjoy!

Trini Green Seasoning

Neither of you had the chance to really know your uncle Rob.

He was auntie Aviva's first boyfriend and his family was our family. He called me Sis up until his dying day. He was kind to a fault; he finished his apprenticeship to be an Electrician and was at the start of a promising career when he threw it all away to take care of his parents. Uncle Joe, his dad, had cancer. They moved back to Toronto from Trinidad and your uncle Rob gave everything up to work odd jobs and care for his parents. That's the kind of person he was.

One thing I would never forget about your uncle Rob (besides the dancing, dominoes, and drinks) was how well he could cook. Trini food was something I learned from him; not from auntie Carlen or Auntie Mel. Uncle Rob introduced me to Trini ingredients.

When we were in Trinidad it all came together; the garage on Epringham was his family's attempt to recreate the outdoor kitchen. It was there I first helped him (and learned in the process) make green seasoning.

Green seasoning is ubiquitous in Trinidad. Whether you are Indian, Black, Chinee or White, every culture uses it to marinate everything. It may vary here and there, but this is how I learned to make it, and to me this is the best.

I wish you both got to know your uncle Rob. You would have loved him.

Thanks for everything Robbie. We miss you.

From left to right: Canola oil, green onion, ginger, thyme, lime, scotch bonnet, garlic, salt, bandanya

Green Seasoning 

Bandanya/Chadon Beni		8 bunches
Green Onion		8 stalks
Thyme		6 stalks
Ginger (fresh)		1 knob (2")
Garlic		2 bulbs
Scotch Bonnet		1-3 peppers (depending on your preferences)
Lime (juice & zest)		1
Canola Oil		2 cups
Sea Salt		3 tbsp
Water		1 cup

Preparation:

1. Wash all your herbs, peel your garlic and skin your ginger.
2. Roughly chop the bandanya, green onion, garlic and ginger.
3. Strip the thyme leaves from the woody stalks.
4. Zest and juice the lime. 
5. Add all the ingredients to a blender. If your blender is not glass, it will hold the scent and flavour of these ingredients. Not great if you're making a smoothie. Rob's family had a blender set aside just for making seasoning.
6. Add the salt and the scotch bonnet peppers. One is hot enough, but if you want it super hot, add up to three. Are the kids going to eat? Maybe opt for no scotch bonnet. Even though I'm trying to introduce heat to my kids, this base seasoning can make them refuse an entire meal. Judge wisely.
7. Add the water. Just enough to help the blender along.
8. Blend all the ingredients until everything is well blended. It will not be smooth, but you should not be able to distinguish any one ingredient from the other. 
9. Remove the centre lid from the blender cover and restart the blender on slow. slowly pour in the canola oil. Continue blending until the mixture is a pale green.
10. Use this to marinate any meat or fish. Use this as a base for curry or stew. I can use a spoonful of this to make a quick mango chow in the summertime.
11. I freeze cubes for easy use and jar the rest of the mixture which stays in the fridge for immediate use. if you do this, pour a thin layer of oil on top to prevent spoilage.

Grandma's Stew Chicken

A staple of my childhood was waking up on a weekend morning to my mother's chicken stew and dumplings (or duff, as Guyanese people call them). Now Guyanese cooking is quite utilitarian, but that does not take away from it's deliciousness. People have been known to throw tantrums over there being too little gravy left. Not I. Just saying. Your aunt had very strong opinions about the correct proportions of solids to gravy. Of course, her place could 'accidentally' have more gravy. And I'm not bitter. But it flattens your dreams to have a dry piece of duff with only a trace of stew on the edge with an empty bowl that has been mopped clean.

There is something simple and delicious about this meal. It is wonderful on a cold winter day and also wonderful on a breezy summer evening. I can't think of a time of year when stew chicken isn't delicious.

Ingredients:
Chicken		1 whole bird, cut into 2-3 inch pieces (or the equivalent in thighs and breast)
Potato		8 medium Yukon potatoes, peeled, halved or quartered
Onion		4 onions, peeled and chopped
Tomato Paste		3/4 a small tin
Garlic		1 tbsp, minced
Canola Oil		2 tbsp
Water		1/2 L
Geera (cumin)		1 tsp
Marjoram		1 tbsp
Sage		1 tbsp
Thyme		1 tbsp (fresh, if possible)
Black Pepper		1 tsp, ground
Sea Salt		1 1/2 tsp

Preparation:

1. Clean and use a cleaver to chop chicken into 2-3 inch pieces.
2. In a large pot, heat canola oil on medium heat. 
3. Saute the onions. Add the garlic after the onions have cooked down. Saute until coloured.
4. Add the chicken and stir to coat. 
5. Add the geera, marjoram, sage, thyme, black pepper and sea salt. stir to incorporate.
6. The chicken will release its juices. Let this cook on medium high to evaporate.
7. After the liquid has evaporated, add the potatoes and tomato paste. Stir and let this caramelize.
8. Cover the stew with the boiled water. There should be enough to barely cover the stew.
9. Bring to a boil, stir and reduce heat to a gentle simmer.
10. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender (about 20-30 minutes).
11. Serve with fry bakes, rice, or as we used to have it, fry dumplings. I will provide you the recipe for dumplings in a later post. Hopefully, one day, you can make them. Lord knows I've never done it on my own.

Grandma's and Big Grandma's Beef Barley Soup

If there is one dish that is trademarked to my mother, this is the dish. It is not like any other barley soup I've had. Most are oversalted, or the broth is very thin with very little barley texture. Home made is always best. If you are sick, this soup is for you. If you are cold, this soup is for you. If you need comfort, this soup is for you. If you need a cure all... you see where this is going. After a cup of this a bleak day is brighter. I have a vat of this in the fridge to dip into reheat as needed. Soup does just as great the day after. I sprinkle a little ground black pepper before eating. Yum. My babygirl, you know this is true. This is a wonderful lunch on a cold school day. My babyboy, you will learn to love soup, and this is the soup I will make you love. When you grow up you will wonder why you refused to eat this. Maybe (and I hope) you are just a picky toddler at the moment. But it will eventually remind you of grandma. And maybe, one day, me.

Ingredients:
Beef (stewing or soup cuts)		cubed (1/2" - 1")
Barley		2 cups, cooked
Yukon Potato  (or similar)		3 medium, large cubes (1x1/2")
Carrot		2 carrots, cubed or coined
Onion		3 medium bulbs,chopped
Boiled Water		5 cups
Beef Bullion		1 cube
Salt		1 tbsp
Black Pepper		1 tbsp, ground
Thyme		1 sprig
Canola Oil		4 tbsp

Barley Preparation:

1. Rinse barley in a sieve under cold water. Drain.
2. Toast barley in a pressure cooker, stirring often. 
3. When fragrant, immediately pour in water and add a pinch of salt.
4. Stir well and bring to a boil.
5. Seal pressure cooker with whistle (follow the instructions for your pressure cooker) and let it build pressure until it whistles.
6. Reduce heat to low and let it cook for approximately 15 mins.
7. Take the pot off the heat and let it cool completely.
8. When you remove the lid (make sure you release the pressure completely before you do this!) the barley should be soft all the way through.

Soup Preparation:

1. Wash and chop onions and carrots. Set aside.
2. Rinse and cube beef. Set aside.
3. Add canola oil to a large soup pot on medium heat.
4. When warmed through, saute chopped onions. Be sure you do not brown them.
5. When the onions are translucent, increase the temperature to medium high.
6. Add beef and brown on all sides until it is nicely caramelized.
7. Add potatoes, carrots and thyme. Stir until everything is mixed well.
8. Let the mixture cook until there is little moisture left in the pot.
9. Pour in the boiled water and stir to release all the fond at the bottom of the pot. What is 'fond'? You are my children and reading this, you should know. Go look it up.
10. Add the pressure cooked barley, using the water in the pot to rinse out the bowl. Remember; barley is a thickener, it is important to have all the barley for the texture of the soup.
11. Add salt and pepper.
12. Stir well to agitate the barley and mix the seasoning.
13. Half cover pot and reduce heat to medium low. 
14. Let the soup simmer for 30 minutes.
15. When the soup is nearly done, take a pot spoon and try to break a potato on the side of the pot to test for doneness. If it crushes easily, the soup is done aaand... you've thickened the soup a little, just stir it all together. If it does not crush without pressure, then the soup needs more time.
16. You will notice a greenish tinge (remember the sauteed onions?) when the soup is finished. Remove the pot from the heat and serve.

Barley Congee

I have had a difficult time throwing off the weight since I had Alistair, but it is only recently I have made a concerted effort to really take it off and keep it off. One of the changes I made was trading out simple carbs for complex carbs, such as barley.

I never considered how versatile barley could be and reserved it for my mom's legendary beef/chicken barley soup. But when Jocelyn made the last batch I asked her to pressure cook a half cup of extra barley and set it aside for me. Knowing beef and barley are a natural pairing I assumed I would make some sort of tomato based stew, but then Jocelyn made her amazing steamed fish and that changed my entire approach. When you think about barley's thickening power (see almost every recipe I have for use of barley flour), it could potentially behave like rice does in congee. And let me tell you, congee is one of the most comforting bowls of morning love you can ever eat.

I had steamed fish (seasoned with garlic, green onion and ginger), spinach, garlic paste (I make and keep a jar in the fridge) and, of course, cooked barley. So I got to assembling a dish. And it was absolutely delicious and less carb heavy than rice. It will naturally be on the thicker side of congee, but I never liked thin congee anyways. And if the barley thickens up too much, just thin it out slightly with a little bit of water.

You can substitute out ingredients as needed. My rule of thumb would be one leafy green vegetable, one protein, a strong seasoning, and optionally include green onion and century egg. For a couple options, you could do minced pork, garlic greens, black fungus (mushroom), century egg and fish sauce, or chicken, yo choi, garlic and chili. There are so many variations and I can't wait to try them all.

The recipe below serves one, but you can adjust it upwards to serve the whole family.

This is about to get in my belly.

Ingredients:
White Fish (Sole, Tilapia, Cod or similar)		6 oz fillets, steamed
Barley		1 cup, cooked (preparation shown for 1 cup uncooked)
Water		2 cups (barley), 1/4 cup (congee)
Spinach		2 cup, sliced
Garlic		1/4 tsp, minced
Siracha		1/2 tsp
Fish sauce		1 1/2 tsp
Black Pepper		1 tsp, ground
Green Onion		chopped, to garnish

Barley Preparation:

1. Rinse barley in a sieve under cold water. Drain.
2. Toast barley in a pressure cooker, stirring often. 
3. When fragrant, immediately pour in water and add a pinch of salt.
4. Stir well and bring to a boil.
5. Seal pressure cooker with whistle (follow the instructions for your pressure cooker) and let it build pressure until it whistles.
6. Reduce heat to low and let it cook for approximately 15 mins.
7. Take the pot off the heat and let it cool completely.
8. When you remove the lid (make sure you release the pressure completely before you do this!) the barley should be soft all the way through.

Congee Preparation:

1. Wash and chop spinach.
2. In a pot on medium-low heat, add spinach, minced garlic, black pepper, fish sauce and siracha. Give it a quick stir.
3. Add the cooked barley. This can be fresh from the pressure cooker or leftover from the fridge - the only difference is the amount of water needed and time stirring to reconstitute the original consistency.
4. Add water slowly while stirring. Continue adding water as needed to create a creamy congee like texture. The key is to continue stirring. Agitating the barley releases the starch to form the sauce. No stirring just leaves you with barley and strongly flavoured water.
5. Once the texture is perfect remove the pot from the heat - you do not want to dry out the congee at this point.
6. Ladle out into soup bowls and layer the steamed fish on top (assuming the fish is well seasoned during steaming - think ginger, green onion, garlic, soy sauce).
7. Garnish with green onions.