5 Indo-Caribbean Eats to Warm Up Yuh Soul This Holiday Season

The holidays are upon us, a time of good cheer, good company, and good food! The Christmas season holds a special place in the hearts of Indo-Caribbeans everywhere, where homemade curries, drinks, and decadent cakes take center-stage and memories are made year after year with families bonding over cooking and tasting.

Check out these mouthwatering Christmas classics and enjoy an authentic taste of the Caribbean right in your own kitchen!

Duck curry and dhal puri

Rich, savory and hot are how Indo-Caribbeans like to dress up their curry, and duck curry never fails to please! A classic delicacy in Guyana and in many Caribbean countries, this flavourful curry is a favorite for special occasions such as weddings, parties and family gatherings. While it may be eaten on these days, it’s still a pretty special dish for the holidays.

Tender pieces of duck meat are cooked in a base of garlic, onions, curry powder and garam masala. Familiar Indian spices such as cumin, coriander, turmeric and hot peppers create the delicious soorwah (wet curry). Duck curry pairs especially well with dhal puri, delicate puris (flatbread) stuffed with ground dhal, spices, and pepper. This classic Indo-Caribbean meal is sure to please those taste buds!

Get the recipe here: http://jehancancook.com/2012/03/a-duo-of-curries/

Photo Credits: www.jehancancook.com

Ginger Beer

Served over ice, this Christmas favorite packs a punch with its fruity notes and deliciously spicy aroma. Contrary to the name, this Caribbean classic contains no alcohol. Homemade in kitchens across the Caribbean, Gingerbeer gets its name from being made with fresh ginger, cloves, cinnamon and citrus peel. After being stored in a cool place to ferment, the ginger beer is ready for straining, sweetening, and enjoying! Garnish with a sprig of mint and you’ve got yourself a lip smacking glass of gingery goodness.

Get the recipe here: https://www.alicaspepperpot.com/uncle-juniors-ginger-beer-recipe/

Photo Credits: www.aliciaspepperpot.com

Black Cake

No Caribbean Christmas is complete without Black Cake!

In all parts of the Caribbean, from Jamaica to Guyana, rum cake is highly revered and especially popular during the holiday season. Fruits are soaked in rum for months (sometimes even years!) leading up to December. Deliciously dense, this thick slice of decadence gets its rich and robust flavor and deep dark color from a mixture of finely chopped prunes, currents, raisins and glazed cherries soaked in red wine and dark rum. This beloved mixture is added to a classic fruit cake batter, with warm spices, aromatic flavorings, and plenty of citrusy notes. This boozy cake is one you just can’t get enough of!

Get the recipe here: https://metemgee.com/2019/11/23/guyanese-black-cake/

Photo Credits: www.aliciaspepperpot.com

Sorrel

Our Trinidadian friends let loose during the holiday season with glasses of sorrel, the taste of fond family memories.

Simple and delicious, this gorgeous garnet drink is made from steeping dried petals of the hibiscus flower. Sugar, cinnamon, cloves and orange peel are added to water to create this Caribbean classic. Enjoy some sorrel on ice with slices of mandarin oranges, cut with some soda water and wedges of lime, or as a holiday cocktails with rum or sparkling wine. Cheers!

Get the recipe here: https://bluejeanchef.com/recipes/trinidadian-sorrel/

Photo Credits: www.cookingwithria.com

Cook-up Rice

Warm and delicious, this is just what you need on a cold winter’s day.

This rich and flavourful all-in-one stew has many names throughout the Caribbean. In Guyana, it is fondly called Cook-up Rice, its name given for being a one pot dish that comes together deliciously no matter what you choose to throw inside. Hearty and rustic, this rice stew is boiled and served wet, giving the stew a very moist texture. Cook-up rice is typically made with an onion and garlic base, and rice boiled in a homemade broth of coconut milk and fresh herbs. A variety of beans and chickpeas are tossed in, from black eye peas to channa and split peas, and a hearty serving of fresh chopped spinach, carrots and peppers. Hot wiri wiri peppers give this dish a spicy kick, and home chefs usually include their favorite meats cooked right in to turn up the flavor.

Get the recipe here: https://www.alicaspepperpot.com/guyanese-style-cook-up-rice/

Photo Credits: www.aliciaspepperpot.com