Hot Peppers!

Aaaaaaah, hot pepper... just saying the name alone makes my mouth water! At one time, I was afraid of pure hot peppers, especially habaneros, congo peppers and scotch bonnets. Nowadays, I still fear them a bit, but I like to have them nearby, because many a Trinbagonian knows that you can’t make certain dishes without them. Can you imagine making some mango chow, curried chicken, callaloo, doubles or a good fish broth without a little pepper for flavour? Perish the thought! In Trinidad and Tobago we have so many varieties of these colourful gems, we just lump them into one group and call them ‘hot pepper’, but only the connoisseurs know the subtle differences between the habanero and scotch bonnets, which are what we’re most familiar with. According to Wikipedia, the Scotch bonnet is often compared to the habanero, since they are two varieties of the same species, but have different pod types. Both have a similar heat level and flavour but the habanero is somewhat sweeter, which lends itself well to most savoury treatments. Still, I like to believe that it’s our clever use of peppers that makes us stand out as cooks, because there’s hardly a dish where we don’t use them or sprinkle a little bit on what we’re eating. All food vendors know that you can’t be a bona fide seller without having some pepper sauce on standby and speaking of which, I’m going to be sharing two recipes for a couple of hot Trinbago favourites that we all know and love, and they are none other than Mother In Law and Pepper sauce... which will certainly put some ‘water’ in your Eye Food for Carnival! Important: When handling hot peppers such as habanero, scotch bonnets or congo peppers, do so very carefully. Put on a pair of rubber gloves before cutting into them and when finished, carefully wash your cutting board and knives in hot, soapy water. Dispose of the gloves afterward. Happy Carnival!

 

Fast Pepper Sauce

Ingredients

 

9 green, red and yellow Scotch bonnet peppers, cut in half. (If you’re feeling brave, keep all the seeds in. If not, remove the seeds.) 

About 5 to 7 leaves chadon beni, chopped

Juice of 3 limes

1 green caraili  (bitter gourd), seeded and chopped (you can leave this out if you don’t like it)

1 carrot (medium to large), peeled and chopped

1 small head of garlic, all cloves peeled

1 small, firm, half ripe mango (or two

 pommecytheres), peeled and chopped

1 cup white vinegar

Between 1 to 2 teaspoons salt

 

Method 

Simply put all ingredients in your food processor or blender and puree until nice, thick and chunky. (If you want a more pourable sauce, hit the “liquefy” button.)

Decant into a clean glass bottle with a tight fitting cover. 

This pepper sauce can keep for up to six months or more, provided that you only use a clean plastic spoon to do your dipping. Use it on anything!

 

Mother-in-Law

This is a popular condiment that is 

served anywhere there is good food. 

For variety, you can add in some chopped up pommecythere or green mango to give it 

a little ‘tang’.

 

Ingredients

 

3 to 4 yellow habanero peppers, chopped as finely as possible (seeds in or out, your choice)

1 medium or large carrot, diced very small

4 cloves garlic and 5 leaves chadon beni, 

blended together

1 medium onion, diced finely

1/2 a caraili, chopped fine 

(make sure it’s a green one 

with white seeds)

Juice from 2 or 3 small limes

1  teaspoon salt (or to taste)

 

Method

Combine all the ingredients 

except the limes and salt in a large bowl and stir to make sure all are distributed evenly. 

Pour on the lime juice and add in the salt. Mix well and enjoy!