← Nouns Cooking · Caribbean

Ingredients

• 200 g yellow split peas, rinsed well
• 1.5 l Water
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 4 cloves Garlic, divided: 2 crushed, 2 thinly sliced
• ½ tsp Ground turmeric
• 1 scotch bonnet or 2 wiri wiri peppers, left whole
• 1¼ tsp Salt
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander (or chadon beni)
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1 tsp cumin (geera) seeds

Method

1. Put the split peas, water, onion, crushed garlic, turmeric and whole pepper in a large pot. Bring to a boil, skim off the foam, then partly cover and simmer for 40–45 min, stirring now and then, until the peas have collapsed.
2. Lift out the pepper. Swizzle with a whisk or blend briefly with a stick blender until smooth; it should be the texture of thin custard, so add hot water if it is too thick. Stir in the salt and coriander.
3. For the chunkay, heat the oil in a small pan or a large metal ladle over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds and sliced garlic and fry for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the garlic is deep golden and the seeds crackle.
4. Stand back and plunge the hot oil into the dhal: it will hiss loudly. Cover the pot straight away for 1 minute to trap the aroma, then stir. Serve over white rice with a fried or curried vegetable on the side.

Tips

• Watch the garlic closely in the chunkay; dark golden is perfect, black is bitter.
• Dhal thickens as it cools, so loosen leftovers with a splash of hot water.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Simply Trini Cooking Alica's Pepperpot CaribbeanPot.com