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Guyanese food is very difficult to make if you are a newbie. It takes years and years of practice and acquired intuition to get a dish perfect on a consistent basis, and even then, one person’s way of doing things may be completely different than another person’s.  As the recipes on the Guyana cookbook are more guidelines than instructions, I’d like to offer some cooking tips that can help put you on the straight and narrow when it comes to Guyanese food.

Don't let your roti turn out like this!

Top Ten Tips for Making Roti

1. Use WARM to HOT water when making the dough. I don’t understand the physics of it, but it makes the dough turn out better than using cold water.

2. ALWAYS keep dough covered while you are working with individual pieces to keep it from drying out. I like using a damp paper towel. Nothing is worse than working with dried out dough.

3. WOODEN rolling pins are better than marble. Something about the grainy texture provides the right amount of traction but no stick. (Beer bottles can be used in a pinch if you find that someone has stolen your rolling pin for unknown purposes, or if your significant other/children/ayi put it in the wrong cupboard and you just didn’t find it in time)

4. TIE UP YOUR HAIR (if you’re a girl with long hair)- stray hairs in the dough just isn’t appetizing

5. Use ONE hand to mix the dough, that way you’ll have a clean hand to turn on  faucet to refill your water cup without getting flour all over the sink

6. Instead of rolling and oiling and refolding individual rotis, save time by rolling just-made dough into a LARGE RECTANGLE, about twice as long as it is wide. Spread oil and sprinkle flour across the surface like you would in the recipe instructions for individual rotis, and then starting from the long-end, roll the dough up like you would a yoga mat. Then pinch off into balls, twisting the ends closed and pressing them in.

7. Individual roti balls should be about the size of a TANGERINE

8. DON’T roll roti too thin, or else it won’t rise and separate. Optimal thickness is 1/10 of an inch, the thickness of a 5 cent coin.

9. Make sure the Tawa is HOT HOT HOT before you cook. Water should sizzle and evaporate immediately when sprinkled on the surface.

10. Only flip 3 times! Any more and the roti will become tough.

I hope these tips help!

The Guyana Cookbook

The Guyana Cookbook- Recipes from the Bengfort Family

The fame and fortune of this website (in terms of folks who aren’t family) is based soley on the content of the Guyana cookbook. I understand that this site is one of the number one hits when you search for Guyana cooking and I have disapointed a lot of people by taking it down (not to mention destroying a lot of links to our site). Therefore I am going to attempt to place the content back on the website for all the fans.

I have been debating on how to do this- you may think this is just as simple as adding the webpages to the site, and of course it could be. However, the new software installed on the site gives us the potential for a more dynamic solution- adding each recipe as its own blog post. By doing this, and categorizing them and tagging them, it would give folks the oppertunity to search the recipes, comment on them, and allow all of us to edit them using the software. This means the cookbook could be better.

However, this method has its drawbacks- folks couldn’t link to one webpage for the entire cookbook- they would have to link to individual recipes, which would be treated like any other posts by the software. This might make the recipes harder to find, and maybe decrease our page rank on Google. I am determined to come up with a solution for this, however, even if I take both methods- a static web page and add recipes as posts. Needless to say, recipes as posts is one key feature so…

Expect to see recipes for our favorite foods posted over the next couple days so that we have a database of Guyana recipes!

This potato curry should be served with a sada roti or roti. It is a good vegetarian equivalent to chicken curry or any meat curry, and is a good satisfying meal. My vegetarian daughter-in-law’s favorite meal is roti, pumpkin, and aloo.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• ¼ tsp cumin seeds
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 green onion, finely chopped
• 3 celery leaves, finely chopped
• 1 hot green or red pepper, seeded and minced
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• ¼ cup water
• 2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 cups hot water

Directions:
Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add cumin seeds and fry 1 minute. Add garlic, onions, celery leaves, and hot peppers and fry for 2 minutes.

Combine curry powder and ¼ cup water in small bowl to form a paste. Add to pan and sauté 3 minutes.

Add potatoes and stir well. Add hot water and cook over medium low heat until potatoes are very tender, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Channa refers to chick peas in Hindi. While I pronounce it my typical ChA-nAH, my Indian friends, constantly berate me saying it is ChUH-NUH. To make a ‘crunchier’ channa, don’t simmer the chickpeas but soak them overnight. This East Indian snack should be served warm or at room temperature in bowl as a side dish or a snack.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained; or canned chickpeas, drained
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• ½ tsp cumin
• ¼ tsp chili powder, or paprika
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
If using dried chickpeas, cover with 4 cups boiling water, add ½ tsp salt, and simmer over medium heat until tender, about 45 minutes. Drain.

Heat oil in a frying pan until hot. Add onion and sauté until golden. Add chickpeas and seasoning and sauté 3 to 4 minutes.

This was much made by Nanee, who would often fill the house with the smell of roasting eggplant and tomatoes, much to the chagrin of the kids who were afraid of eating anything purple! But don’t worry, this lovely dish is delicious. Baigan means eggplant in Hindi, while choka refers to the method of roasting vegetables and blending them with spices. Eat with roti or bakes; or as a side dish to a meal.

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant (aubergine)
• 2 cloves garlic, halved
• 1 medium tomato, cut into 6 segments
• 1 small onion, quartered
• ½ tsp cumin
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 °F (220 °C/Gas 7).

Make two lengthwise slits in eggplant. Insert garlic, tomato, and onion into slits. Wrap in foil, place on baking sheet, and bake until eggplant is soft, about 40 minutes.

Carefully unwrap eggplant. Peel back skin and scoop out flesh with a fork. Place eggplant flesh in bowl with garlic, tomato, and onion. Add cumin, salt and pepper, and mash together until well blended. Serve hot.

Bora are also known as yard-long beans or snake beans. Serve this with roti or as a side dish. If you don’t have Bora, use long, fresh green beans (not out of a can).

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 hot red pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
• 1 lb bora, washed, stringed, and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 3 tbsp water
• ¼ tsp cumin
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Heat oil in frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add tomatoes and hot pepper and sauté 3 more minutes. Add bora and water, stir well. Add cumin, then salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until bora are tender, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Serve hot.

Simple vegetable dish to serve with dhal, rice, and roti. Usually made in small portions as a response to vegetarians who show up at the last minute when you have made an entire pot of chicken curry because it is simple at tastes very good.

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 lb okra, trimmed and sliced
• 1 tsp cumin
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Sauté garlic and onion until soft. Add okra and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add cumin then salt and pepper to taste and cook 10 minutes longer. Serve hot.

Bhaji is the name given to Indian kale or calallo and sometimes known as Chinese spinach. Serve as an accompaniment with rice, dhal, and roti. You can use Swiss Chard, spinach, calallo leaves or kale to make this dish. Note: contains shrimp.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 oz spinach, callaloo leaves, or Swiss chard- washed, stemmed, and finely chopped
• 2 oz dried shrimp (prawns) soaked in 1 cup water (optional for vegans)
• 1 hot pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Heat oil in heavy saucepan over high heat. Add garlic and greens and stir well. Drain shrimp and add to saucepan with hot pepper. Use salt and black pepper to taste. Cook until greens are wilted and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 8 to 10 minutes. Serve hot.

This is a fruit, fish, and dumpling dish that is very delicious, and is eaten like casserole in the U.S. I highly recommend trying this dish if you are new to Guyanese cooking, because it will quickly become one of your mainstay dinners.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs fillets of snapper or other white-fleshed fish, cut into pieces
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• salt
• 2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 sprig fresh thyme or  ¼ tsp dry
• 2 cups water
• 2 green plantains or green bananas, peeled and cut into thirds
• 8 oz yam, peeled and cubed
• 1 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 lb cassava, peeled and cubed
• 6 black peppercorns
• ½ tsp finely chopped thyme
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 cups coconut milk
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 large onion, sliced
• dumplings

Directions:
Rub fish with lemon juice, salt, parsley, and thyme. Set aside.

Bring water to boil in a large saucepan. Add plantain, yam, sweet potatoes, cassava, peppercorns, additional thyme, garlic, and coconut milk and cook over medium heat until liquid reduces a little, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Add carrots, onion, and fish and cook about 5 minutes. Add dumplings. Cover and cook 10 more minutes. Do not lift the lid during this time or the dumplings will not be soft and fluffy. Serve immediately.

Hearty curries like chicken or potatoes are easily complimented by this more delicate curry, and is great for picnics and summer BBQs.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• ½ green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 hot pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 lbs shrimp, peeled
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp cold water (optional)

Directions:
Heat butter in frying pan over low heat. Add curry powder and fry 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Stir in onion, bell pepper, hot pepper, and shrimp. Add water and sugar, and simmer until shrimp are cooked, 10 to 12 minutes, stirring regularly. If sauce is too thin, mix in cornstarch paste and bring to boil to thicken.