Cooking in the Islands
West Indian Curry
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Recipes 12 Boy Curry Goat Water Her Majesty's Regimental Beef Curry Roti

Imported from the East Indies, curry-based foods are popular in the islands, especially roti.

The fun part here is at the end when the cook and crew gets to come up with as many novel toppings for the 12 Boy Curry. But the culinary challenge is to create a roti that approaches those served at the Roti Palace  in Road Town.

Roti

Roti is a very popular item, usually made as a sandwich, but often served with rice as a main dish. Roti is basically curried meat, seafood or vegetables in a crepe wrapping.

Again, there are many variations of roti. This recipe is a crepe from Guyana filled with a curry dish from Trinidad, both adapted from Sky Juice and Flying Fish.

The crepe is made from unbleached white flour, baking powder and salt, adding water to make a stiff dough. The dough is then rolled out into thin crepe. A little corn oil and flour is spread on before grilling.

Or use a prepared crepe or tortilla shell.

For the curry dish inside the crepe, saut� onion, garlic and ginger in butter, adding curry powder and red chiles, then vinegar to form a paste.

Marinate strips or shreads of chicken breast, meat or seafood with the paste and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours.

Cook until tender, adding water as needed. Chopped potatoes or breadfruit may be added.

Fill the crepe with the curry dish. Or dip the crepe in the separate curry dish. See also Trinidadian Roti with Potato Curry Filling.

Goat Water

Goat water is actually a curried stew.

Cube the goat (lamb can be substituted) and marinate 1/2 hour in the above- mentioned roti ingredients of curry powder, garlic (but not ginger), Scotch bonnet pepper and onion, adding more onion flavor with shallot and scallion, salt and pepper and even a couple of tomatoes (peeled and seeded)

Brown the meat only in a skillet with butter and oil, then add the marinade and water, and cook until the meat is tender. Serve over rice (from Sky Juice and Flying Fish).

Her Majesty's West Indian
Regimental Beef Curry

A beef version appears in Her Majesty's West Indian Regimental Beef Curry in honor of the West Indian troops who fought in WW2 from the The Sugar Mill Caribbean Cookbook.

Notice how heavily this goes into milk and cream, coconut and sugar, balanced by lime juice.

Onion is sauteed to flavor butter, and removed, before browning the beef cubes. Return onion, adding curry powder and salt and pepper together with ginger, sugar and milk.

Simmer covered one hour. Add coconut cream and grated coconut and cook for 5 minutes. Add lime juice and heavy cream and simmer 10-15 minutes.

Serve on rice with condiments (chopped) on top: hard boiled eggs, chutney, roasted peanuts, bacon, toasted coconut, tomatoes, green onions or peppers, bananas, apples, pineapples or other fruit, etc.

12 Boy Curry

These topping are called "boys" in Maverick Sea Fare, traditionally being served by boys in the far east. The underlying dish uses Swanson's Chicken a La King with curry powder. The emphasis is on the exotic condiments or "boys" with up to a "20 Boy Curry."

Here we settle for 12. Each crew member can supply at least one and discuss which combines the best.