The Indian Influence in Trinidad & Tobago

People of Indian descent make up about 40% of the population of Trinidad & Tobago. And thus, their foods are popular all over the island. It is loved and consumed by all Trinidadians.

For breakfast, there are long lines of people awaiting their turn to buy the hot and tasty "doubles" at road intersections and carparks all over the island. This is basically made up of a pair of deep fried dough sandwich, with slightly curried chickpeas enclosed within the dough. There are a variety of additives which you may add to your doubles to your taste and fancy. Some of these are the coconut chutney, the mango chutney, the cucumber chutney, kuchela, the tamarind sauce, hot sauce and so on. Once you've tasted the doubles, you will long for another one, and another one and another. When you've eaten your full of doubles, you can then drink an ice-cold coconut, direct from the shell.

For lunch and dinner, you may consider the delicious "roti and curry chicken with potato," or the 'roti and curry goat with potato", or the "roti and curry duck with potato", or the "roti and curry beef with potato", or if you are a vegetarian you may want to try the "roti and curry potato" with some other of the various freshly cooked tasty vegetables. Of course there are other tasty dishes for you to enjoy in Trinidad, these include  tomato choka, baigan choka, aloo-pies, sahina, pholouri, buss-up-shot, and sada roti.

Cultural Cuisine of Trinidad

Of the African Heritage in Trinidad and Tobago, culture and food play an important role. The African influence is tasted in foods such as "Crab and Callalloo",which is crabs and spinach, cooked in coconut milk . The taste is spectacular. This is normal a weekend dish, which family members enjoy at home.
Then there is the Bake and Shark, which is eaten whenever Trinidadians go to the beaches. In this meal, deep fried shark is enclosed in a fried dough sandwich, and this is topped up with condiments of your choice. These include, tamarind, garlic and other hot sauces, cucumbers, pineapples, tomatoes,onions, all to your taste and choice. You wash this down with a cold "Solo", a local soft drink.
The  pelau, is another such dish of African Heritage. It is a cook up of meat that may be chicken or beef preseasoned and marinated  overnight, and browned under heat with sugar from the cane, and then, cooked  with pigeon peas and rice in coconut milk. Best when eaten hot, and the taste is unimaginable. It is a  very popular weekend dish in Trinidad, when all the family members are at home.