Caribbean cuisine is a fusion of West African, Creole, Amerindian, European, Latin American, Indian/South Asian, North American, Middle Eastern, and Chinese. These traditions were brought from many countries when they moved to the Caribbean. In addition, the population has created styles that are unique to the region.
Jamaican cuisine includes a mixture of cooking techniques, flavours and spices influenced by Amerindian, West African, Irish, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Indian, Chinese and Middle Eastern people who have inhabited the island. It is also influenced by the crops introduced into the island from tropical Southeast Asia, many of which are now grown locally. A wide variety of seafood, tropical fruits and meats are available.
Fufu is a pounded meal found in West African cuisine. It is a Twi word that originates from the Akans in Ghana. The word has been expanded to include several variations of the pounded meal found in other African countries including Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Angola and Gabon. It also includes variations in the Greater Antilles, where African culinary influence is high.
Jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica, in which meat is dry-rubbed or wet marinated with a hot spice mixture called Jamaican jerk spice.
Hallaca is a traditional Venezuelan dish. Its origin is indigenous, but raisins, capers, olives, and sometimes bits of bacon were added in the 16th Century and after by settlers from the Iberian peninsula. Hallaca consists of corn dough stuffed with a stew of beef, pork, or chicken and other ingredients such as raisins, capers, and olives, fresh onion rings, red and green bell pepper slices. There are vegetarian hallacas, made with black beans or tofu. Hallacas are folded in plantain leaves, tied with strings, and boiled. The dish is traditionally served during the Christmas season and has several regional variants. It has been described as a national dish of Venezuela. Some speculate it originated from the Orinoquia. Characteristic of the hallaca is the delicate corn dough made with consommé or broth, and lard colored with annatto. Hallacas are also commonly eaten in eastern Cuba, Trinidad where it is called pastelle, and parts of Colombia, Ecuador, Aruba, and Curaçao.
Callaloo is a plant used in popular dishes in many Caribbean countries, while for other Caribbean countries, a stew made with the plant is called callaloo. Cuisines including the plant Callaloo or dishes called callaloo varies throughout the Caribbean. In countries such as Trinidad and Tobago or Grenada, the dish itself is called callaloo, and uses taro leaves or Xanthosoma leaves.
Sancocho is a traditional stew in Canarian cuisine and several Latin American cuisines. Latin variations represent popular national dishes in Dominican Republic, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Mexico, Ecuador, Panama, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. It usually consists of large pieces of meat, tubers and vegetables served in a broth.
Pepperpot is an Amerindian-derived dish popular in Guyana. It is traditionally served at Christmas and other special events. Along with chicken curry, and cook-up rice, pepperpot is one of Guyana's national dishes.
Ghanaian cuisine refers to the meals of the Ghanaian people. The main dishes of Ghana are centered around starchy staple foods, accompanied by either sauce or soup as well as a source of protein. The primary ingredients for the vast majority of soups and stews are tomatoes, hot peppers, and onions. As a result of these main ingredients, most Ghanaian soups and stews appear red or orange.
Fesenjān is a sweet and sour Iranian stew from Northern Iran. It is typically served over rice in the Iranian manner. Like other khoresh stews served over rice, fesenjan is common also to Iraqi cuisine. As a festive dish for special occasions, it has become part of Jewish Rosh Hashannah celebrations. Even though the typology of Jewish ethnic cuisines is imprecise, fesenjan may be considered part of Sephardic cuisine. In Azerbaijan, where it called fisincan plov, the stew is made with lamb meatballs instead of poultry.
Rice and peas or peas and rice are traditional rice dishes within some Caribbean countries. The 'peas' used in this dish by some countries are traditionally pigeon peas otherwise called 'Gungo peas' in the Caribbean. Nowadays, either kidney beans or pigeon peas are being traditionally used. Rice and peas recipes throughout the Caribbean vary, with each country having their own way of making it and name of calling it, and are similar only by the two main ingredients which are the legumes (peas/beans) used and rice to form a mixture. The name "rice and peas" originally is used by Jamaicans to identify the dish, while other countries have different names for it.
Afghan cuisine is influenced to a certain extent by Persian, Central Asian and Indian cuisines due to Afghanistan's close proximity and cultural ties. The cuisine is halal and mainly based on mutton, beef, poultry and fish with rice and Afghan bread. Accompanying these are common vegetables and dairy products, such as milk, yogurt, and whey, and fresh and dried fruits such as apples, apricots, grapes, bananas, oranges, plums, pomegranates, sweet melons, and raisins. The diet of most Afghans revolves around rice-based dishes, while various forms of naan are consumed with most meals. Tea is generally consumed daily in large quantities, and is a major part of hospitality. The culinary specialties reflect the nation's ethnic and geographic diversity. The national dish of Afghanistan is Kabuli palaw, a rice dish cooked with raisins, carrots, nuts, and lamb or beef.
Peanut stew or groundnut stew, also known as maafe, sauce d'arachide (French) or tigadèguèna is a stew that is a staple food in Western Africa. It originates from the Mandinka and Bambara people of Mali.
Chicken curry or curry/curriedchicken is a South Asian dish originating from India. It is common in the Indian subcontinent, Caribbean, Arabian Peninsula, Southeast Asia, Great Britain, and Japan. A typical curry from the Indian subcontinent consists of chicken stewed in an onion- and tomato-based sauce, flavoured with ginger, garlic, tomato puree, chilli peppers and a variety of spices, often including turmeric, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and cardamom. Outside of South Asia, chicken curry is often made with a pre-made spice mixture known as curry powder.
Fried plantain is a dish cooked wherever plantains grow, from West Africa to East Africa as well as Central America, the tropical region of northern South America and the Caribbean countries like Haiti to Cuba and in many parts of Southeast Asia and Oceania, where fried snacks are widely popular. In Indonesia it is called gorengan. It is called dodo in Yoruba in South West Nigeria, otherwise known as simply fried plantain in other parts of Nigeria. Kelewele is a fried spicy plantain or can be fried as a side dish for Red Red and fish stew in Ghana.
Mannish water is a goat soup in Caribbean cuisine. It is believed to be an aphrodisiac and is made from various goat parts.
Oil down is a salted meat and vegetable stew that is the national dish of Grenada.
Run down, also referred to as rundown, run dun, rondón, fling-me-far, and fling mi for, is a stew dish in Jamaican cuisine and Tobago cuisine. The traditional Jamaican dish is eaten in several Latin American countries that share a coast with the Caribbean Sea.
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients can include any combination of vegetables and may include meat, especially tougher cuts of meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef, pork, venison, rabbit, lamb, poultry, sausages, and seafood. While water can be used as the stew-cooking liquid, stock is also common. A small amount of red wine, white wine or other alcohol is sometimes added for increased flavour. Seasonings in the form of bouillon cubes or spices and flavourings may also be added. Stews are typically cooked at a relatively low temperature, allowing flavours to mingle for longer periods of time depending on the protein used.
