Category Archives: Garifuna food

Aug 14 2017

Hudut with Sere

Hudut with Sere, often simply called “Hudut” is one of the most popular Garifuna dishes. “Hudut” is actually the term for the mashed green and ripe plantain, and “sere” refers to the coconut fish stew that it is served with. The hudut is sometimes served with other stews or other meats, but the coconut and fish is the most popular.

Hudut with sere

There is a similar dish called “tapado” that is popular in the Guatemelan Garifuna town of Livingston, which includes more seafood such as shrimp and shellfish.

Below is a typical Belizean recipe for hudut with sere. You can experience this delicious meal if you sign-up for one of our Half- or Whole-Day Packages and take part in a cooking lesson or simply enjoy the meal.

Hudut with Sere

Ingredients (sere)

  • 2 medium size fish
  • 1/2 onion (sliced)
  • 2 plugs garlic (finely chopped)
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil or cooking oil
  • 1 1/2 cups coconut milk (fresh or from powder/can)
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon fresh basil
  • 5 okra

Directions (sere):

Season the cleaned fish with salt and pepper and set aside

Heat up coconut oil in a pot and sautee onions and garlic with salt and pepper for a few minutes.

Add coconut milk and water

Stir and add fish.

Allow to heat up and keep stirring the coconut milk to stop it curdling, but avoid stirring the fish and breaking it up.

Continue to stir the milk, adding the okra about 5 minutes before the fish is cooked.

Continue to cook until fish and okra are cooked and soup is thickened.

Save some of the gravy to use in the hudut (mashed plantain).

Ingredients (Hudut/mashed plantain):

  • 4 green plantains
  • 2 ripe plantain
  • 8 cups water
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup sere

Directions (Hudut/mashed plantain):

  1. Peel and cut plantain.
  2. Boil green plantain until soft, remove from water, put aside
  3. Boil ripe plantain until soft, remove from water, put aside
  4. Let plantains cool a little
  5. Place all plantain in a mata and beat with mata stick, adding water and sere as required to get the desired consistency
  6. Serve with the sere

 

 

Jul 29 2017

Bundiga or Matilda Foot

Bundiga or Matilda Foot

Bundiga or matilda foot

Photo Credit: Travelling kitchen

Bundiga or Matilda Foot is a traditional Garifuna food using the usual Garifuna staple ingredients of fish, coconut, and (green) banana.  It is a very rich and filling dish.

There are quite a few recipes for Bundiga to be found online.  Below is a typical Belizean recipe.

Ingredients for Bundiga or Matilda Foot (Serves 4 – 6)

  • 1 – 1.5 pounds fresh fish
  • 1-2 plugs garlic
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 5-6 cups coconut milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 medium onion (chopped)
  • 2-3 basil leaves or 1/2 teaspoon basil powder
  • 4-5 green banana (grated)

Directions:

  1. Season cleaned fish with salt and black pepper (cover and put to one side)
  2. Prepare coconut milk (from fresh grated coconut or powder)
  3. Peel and grate bananas (cover and put to one side)
  4. Heat coconut milk until just before boiling point then add garlic, onion & basil, then continue to stir until just before boiling point again
  5. Add grated banana one pot spoon at a time
  6. Simmer for about 7 minutes while stirring
  7. Add fish and continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes or until fish is tender
  8. Remove from heat and add additional salt and black pepper to taste
Jul 26 2017

Sahou Cassava Drink

Sahou cassava drink is usually served as a thick, warm drink.  Sometimes it is made with condensed milk or lots of sugar is added.  It is often drunk on chilly mornings to help warm you up.  As one of the staple Garifuna foods, cassava is used in many recipes.

Sahou Cassava Drink Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound cassava or 1⁄4 cup cassava starch
  • 1 grated coconut with 2 cups water OR 2 cups coconut milk (made from powder or from a can)
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon nutmeg 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Sugar, honey or other sweetener to your liking

Directions:

  1. Grate cassava and add about 2-3 cups of water to grated cassava and strain. Use the strained liquid to make the Sahou
  2. Grate coconut and add about 2-3 cups of water and strain (if making your own coconut milk)
  3. Add nutmeg, vanilla and cinnamon to a pot with the cassava liquid.
  4. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly
  5. Add coconut milk and continue to stir until it reaches your desired consistency.
  6. Add sugar, honey or other sweetener to your liking.
  7. Can be served hot or cold as a drink or as a porridge.  
Below are some Garifuna items and jewellery pieces made by us from sea glass collected in Belize. 
Oct 18 2011

Royal Rat – A Vexing Meal? Kriol, the language of Belize

While English maybe the official language, Kriol, the language of Belize, is the real language. Based on English, but with its own grammar system, and lots of other words thrown in, on first coming here, you will probably understand 50-70% of what people say on the streets.

Some proper English words that I think I almost never used at home are used all the time here. Examples include variations of the verb “to vex”, which is used all the time instead of annoyed, angry, pissed off etc, e.g.: “Wha’ yu di geh vex wid me for?” ‘What are you getting angry with me for?”.

My father-in-law, who’s first languages are actually Garifuna and Spanish, broke the news to me that “di crab done condemn some of di okra” that he planted (although happily not all, and as the surviving okra plants are now 12 foot high, they are out of reach of even the largest of blue crabs). Even now, sometimes Ray will say things that have me simply replying “huh?” in confusion. Some call Kriol simplified English, but to me, there is nothing simple about it, and like with all languages, there are some things that only make sense when they are said in Kriol.

I will leave you with January’s recipe from this year’s Kriol Kalinda for stewed gibnut, a huge rabbit-like rodent, which can indeed be made with rabbit if anyone feels like being chef.

It’s alternative name, Royal Rat, comes from the fact that it was fed to Queen Elizabeth during her last visit. I’m not sure whether she found eating an over-sized rodent vexing or not, but I’m sure she’s been fed many strange things in her time.

 

 

 

Schoo Raiyal Rat

Kriol, the language of Belize

The Royal Rat -Picture and Recipe courtesy of the Kriol Council of Belize (http://www.nationalkriolcouncil.org/) and their fantastic annual Kriol Calendar.

  • ¼ or ½ a wan gibnat (bowt 3 pong)
  • 1/8 kop vineega er di joos a 2 laim
  • 1 teespoon seezn saal
  • 3 plog gyaalik, chap op; er 2 teespoon jrai gyaalik
  • ½ teespoon blak pepa
  • ½ teespoon taim
  • 1 tayblspoon saiz rikaado
  • 1 tayblspoon Lea ‘n’ Perrins saas
  • 1 meedyon oanyan, slais op
  • 2 kop vejitablz
  • kuknat ail

How fu mek it:  Wash meet wid vineega er laim.  Kot op di meet eena di saiz porshan weh yu waahn.  Jrayn di meet gud gud.  Miks op aal di seeznin dehn lang wid di saas sotay yu ga wahn wet amonk.  Rob dat op gud-wan pahn di meet.  Den set di meet wan said fu soak dong wahn lee owa self; oavanait eena frij gud tu (di langa di beta).  Heet ail eena yu pan.  Ad di meet.  Ton dong heet tu meedyom.  Brayz fu 30-40 minits; ad 1/3 kop waata evri now ahn den wen di meet jrai owt, sotay ih tenda.  Kova di pat meentaim if yu waahn ih moa tenda.  Yu ku ad di vejitablz fahn di taim yu staat to brayz if yu waahn dehn saafi  saafi, er wayt sotay now fu ad di vejitablz if you waahn dehn moa ferm.  Ad lee moa waata ahn kuk dong tu ail.  Serv wid blak-aiy peez ahn rais, bayk plaantin ahn pitayta salad.

Rikaado, or “recado” is a Belizean seasoning made from the annatto plant (the same plant used to colour orange cheese).  You can use paprika instead. 

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