Anita's Dictionary

Dictionary

This is where you will find the meanings of New Words, Ingredients and Terminologies that are mentioned in my Blog. Some are traditional terms and have been handed down from my ancestors, therefore the pronunciation might vary from what you know it as.

Hope it helps!😏

B

What is Baking Powder.
Noun, b-ei-k-ing p-ow-der.
Baking Powder is a leavening agent that contains sodium bicarbonate AND 2 acid other components. One reacts with the sodium bicarbonate when it's wet, while the other reacts when it is wet and hot. So as the batter bakes, it causes more leavening as the reactions occur.

What is Baking soda
Noun, b-ei-k-ing s-o-da.
Baking soda or sodium bicarbonate is basically that one component. it is a leavening agent which, when added to your ingredients that contain some sort of acid, a reaction takes place which produces carbon dioxide. This is the gas which results in the rising of you batter.


Define: Boojay
Verb, boo-jay, boo-jay-ing. 

Use in a sentence: " The duck has to boojay properly!"

A technique of cooking meat which develops a rich flavour. After the meat has started cooking in a pot, it springs a certain amount of liquid. After this liquid has dried up, reduce the heat to low, and keep turning the meat at 5-minute intervals, and scraping up anything that becomes stuck to the pot. Continue this technique for about 15-20 minutes before adding water to deglaze the pot to continue cooking.

 C

Define: Chounkay
Verb, ch-oun-kay, ch-oun-kay-ing.  

Use in a sentence: "Time to chounkay the chicken or duck." 
A method of cooking whereby you heat oil in a pot and add a required amount of curry masala which is then allowed to fry until it looks grainy. At this point, the meat or vegetables will then be added and coated with the curry and permitted to cook. 

Define: Chulha
Noun, ch-oo-l-ha
A traditional Indian cooking stove which uses firewood for cooking. It is shaped like a "U" and is made out of mud or clay.  

G

What is: Geera

Noun, G-ee-ra

Geera OR Cumin is a middle eastern spice that is traditionally used in curry dishes in Trinidad and Tobago. Geera is the dried seed which is usually handpicked from the flowering herb plant Cuminum cyminum. In Trinidad, we use it in its whole form and in its ground form where it is toasted before being ground. The toasting process concentrates the flavour even further. If you do not have access to the ground form, you can toast it for a few minutes, turning constantly in a heated frying pan, then grind using your Lorha and Sil or coffee grinder. Some countries refer to it as Jeera or Zeera.

L

My Lorha and Sil, handed down from
my mom.

Define: Lorha 

Noun, lor-ha.

Usually used together with a Sil.

An  East Indian utensil made of stone and is used to grind seasonings and spices. The lorha looks like a round stone and is used to perform the grinding. 

M

What is: Methee

Noun, may-th-ee

Methee or methi is also known as Fenugreek. Methee is a seed which is traditionally used in East Indian cooking in Trinidad and Tobago. It comes from a flowering plant that has little pods containing these golden seeds. In Trinidad, we use it by adding to hot oil to allow its flavours to be released into the oil. If you allow it to get black in colour, it will taste very bitter and may spoil your dish, therefore some people tend to remove it from the oil at this stage. I, however, leave it in since I usually time it very nicely to ensure this does not happen. 

  S

Define: Sil 

Noun, s-i-l.

Usually used together with a lorha.

An  East Indian utensil made of stone and is used to grind seasonings and spices. The sil is the flat stone where the seasonings or spices are placed on top of.  The Lorha grinds the seasonings on top of the sil.