Trini Food
28 September 2007 | Trinidad
Devi
Roti are the West Indian answer to a burrito. The outer wrapper or "skin" is made from wheat flour and dahl, or yellow split pea flour. The skin is soft and stretchy and filled with curried meat and vegetables. You can usually get chicken, beef, goat, lamb and sometimes duck. Unless you ask for boneless chicken you will get well stewed curried chicken pieces. A roti is always a hands on experience. If you want some pepper, but not a whole lot you need to ask for "slight peppa". If you want a lot of pepper you ask for "plenty peppa". We favor the vegetable roti which are filled with channa (curried garbanzo beans), pumpkin (orange squash), bodi beans (long green beans), and any other vegetable available. A roti costs $2.00 to $2.50 (US) and will often feed two or fully fill a big appetite. Roti can be found for sale on street corners in the backs of trucks, river side shacks and store fronts downtown.
Roti are for lunch and doubles are for breakfast. Doubles are small roti skins filled with channa, mango chutney and peppa. In the morning double stands pop up like mushrooms after a rain and by the time the 11:00 rain starts the double stands are gone for the day.
Stay turned for Bake and Shark, Bus up shot and Bul Jul.