Rotis - the Wraps of the Caribbean
by Paul Franson

Wraps, eclectic burritos filled with innovative ingredients, have become a trendy fast food for the grab-and-gulp group, but other cultures have been eating similar treats for centuries. In the Caribbean, for example, the regional fast food is the roti, a flour pancake traditionally wrapped around a meat and potato curry.

Though East Indian in origin like many West Indian dishes, rotis have been thoroughly localized. Sold everywhere from rustic roadside roti stands, they're cheap and filling. If McDonald's ever invades the small Caribbean islands, it will probably have to develop a McRoti to supplement its burgers.

The roti wrapper looks for all the world like a large flour tortilla, and few will know the difference if you cheat and use tortillas instead of making your own roti bread. Roti bread, however, contains baking powder and is lighter than a tortilla.

The most popular fillings are curried chicken, goat or conch with potato chunks, but some vendors have taken rotis farther afield. Living in Antigua, I've encountered shrimp, lobster and fish curries as well as vegetarian fillings. Less common are different sauces, but jerk and Creole sauces are interesting alternatives to curry.

You can pick up and eat a roti, but they're pretty messy. It isn't considered effete to use a knife and fork. Just don't forget to provide hot sauce; in the Caribbean, every island has its own- in Antigua, it's Susie's - and they're all incendiary.

Serve with Caribbean beer (Jamaica's Red Stripe is available here) or tropic fruit juices like mango, soursop or tamarind to tame the roti's heat.

Lamb curry filling

Sheep and goats live all over the islands, often invading gardens to eat tasty flowers and vegetables. This is the islanders' revenge. Their local meats are chewy, but flavorful. This and chicken are the most traditional roti fillings.

2 pounds cubed boneless lamb or kid
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 large chopped onion
1 large clove garlic
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 small boiling potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 medium carrots, scraped and sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash hot sauce (See recipe below or use commercial sauce.)
Chutney to taste (See recipe below.)

Brown lamb in oil, then add onion, garlic, curry powder, potatoes and carrots and cook until onions are translucent. Add water to cover, bring to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer about 20 minutes, or until lamb is tender and some potatoes are starting to fall apart. Add water or boil down to get a thick sauce if needed. Add chutney and hot sauce to taste, then place in center of roti bread and fold up like a burrito. Mild.

Vegetarian curry filling

Follow above recipe, omitting meat and increasing the amount of potatoes. Add ½-cup uncooked green peas five minutes before the carrots and potatoes are done.

Other traditional ingredients are Caribbean root vegetables such as cavassa (yucca), yam, eddo, taro or sweet potato, or breadfruit, plantain, pumpkin (hard orange squash) or unripe papaya. They should all be treated like potatoes. Mild.

Jerk chicken filling

Not a traditional roti, this features spicy Jamaican jerk flavoring. Adjust spices to match your tolerance for hot foods.

1 small fryer, meat boned and cubed (Local people leave in small bones to chew.)
½-teaspoon ground allspice (Jamaican pimento)
½-teaspoon salt
¼-teaspoon black pepper
½-teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼-teaspoon ground nutmeg (better: shavings from a whole nutmeg)
¼-teaspoon ground cloves
¼-teaspoon cayenne or other ground red pepper
¼-cup neutral cooking oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 fresh hot pepper, seeded and minced
2 boiling potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 teaspoon arrowroot or cornstarch
Hot sauce to taste

Mix spices together and add chicken. Toss thoroughly to coat chicken with spices and remove from bowl. Set leftover spices aside. Sauté spiced chicken pieces in oil for 5 minutes, then add onion, garlic, fresh pepper and potatoes and cook until onion is translucent. Add reserved spices and 1 cup of water. Cook for 20 minutes until chicken and potatoes are tender. Take off heat and stir in the arrowroot (a Caribbean product) or cornstarch mixed with few tablespoons of cold water to thicken. Add hot sauce to taste. Spicy.

Creole seafood filling

Creole sauces are found from New Orleans to the small islands throughout the Caribbean. A mixture of green peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic, it complements meats, vegetables, and especially, seafood. In the Caribbean, it's likely to be found with conch, but goes equally well with easier-to-find firm but mild-flavored fish like halibut, snapper or rock fish.

1 lb. firm mild fish, cut into ½-inch cubes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 green bell pepper, halved, seeded and diced
1 small hot pepper, seeded and minced
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
¼-teaspoon dried thyme leaves or 1 sprig fresh thyme leaves
1 14-oz. can tomatoes (or equivalent in ripe tomatoes)
1 teaspoon arrowroot (optional)
Dash hot sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté peppers, onion, garlic until onion is translucent. Add thyme and tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes. Add fish and cook for 7 minutes more (or until fish is done). Remove from heat and stir in arrowroot mixed with ¼-cup cold water to thicken if desired. Add salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste. Medium spicy.

Roti bread

Roti bread looks like a flour tortilla, and you can use tortillas to make rotis. This recipe contains leavening so is lighter and more traditional.

1½-cups plain flour
1½-teaspoons baking powder
½-teaspoon salt
1½-tablespoons lard (lard gives the best texture. Don't use oil or butter. Crisco is a possible substitute.)
A few tablespoons water

Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly, then work in lard and add enough water to make a soft but not sticky dough. Cover and let rise for an hour. Divide dough into six pieces, then roll out to 8-to 12-inch circles and cook individually in a heavy ungreased but well seasoned cast iron or nonstick skillet for about two minutes on each side. They should just start to brown.

Mango chutney

Chutney, like many other West Indian foods, originated in East India. A sweet-spicy condiment, it's served with curry rotis.

1 green (unripe or slightly ripe) mango peeled, seeded and chopped
1 hot pepper, seeded and diced
1 thin slice fresh ginger, minced or ½-teaspoon ground ginger
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
¼-cup raisins
¼-cup sugar
Juice of small lime
Salt to taste

Combine ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or the mixture thickens. Cool and serve or refrigerate.

Hot sauce

Each island in the Caribbean has its own commercial and home-made hot sauces. All I've tasted are nuclear and must be used with caution; the second favorite practical joke for mischievous islanders is to seduce tender tourist into dousing their food with the local "mild" sauce. (The first being giving them fruity drinks that they claim contain very little rum.) The local sauce on Antigua is "Susie's," and it's so hot that fiberglass workers in the local boatyard refer to the catalyst they use to set resin by that name.

The strongest hot sauces are simply peppers (Scotch bonnet, a relative of the habanero, is the hottest) with vinegar and salt. Some versions temper the fire with papaya, tomatoes, sweet peppers or onion, and a few, like Tabasco from Louisiana, are fermented and aged, giving a distinctive flavor. This is a medium hot version of a fairly typical sauce that tastes good and won't remove the tartar from your teeth.

1 green (unripe) papaya, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
5 hot peppers, de-seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
¼ cup fresh lime juice
½ cup white vinegar
Dash of salt

Mix ingredients. Age for about a week in the refrigerator. Consume with care.

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Paul Franson encountered and adapted these recipes while living on his 41-ft. sailboat Selkie in the Caribbean.

© copyright 1997 by Paul Franson