People always think of jerk chicken when it comes to West Indian food, but Roti is one of the most popular foods in the Caribbean, particularly in Trinidad. Roti was brought to the region by the East Indian contract labourers, as early as 1840, and has been localised as a Caribbean dish. Variations on roti are popular throughout the Caribbean and parts of South America.
For those who don’t know, a Roti is a flour pancake or wrap, similar to, but lighter than a tortilla, and filled with various foods, including curried chicken, goat, shrimp, channa (chick-peas). West Indian roti are mainly made from wheat flour, salt, and water. Jerk and Creole sauces are alternatives to curry. The word ‘roti’ across the Caribbean also refers to a dish of stewed or curried ingredients wrapped in a ‘roti skin’.
Roti is hugely popular in Trinidad, where just under half of the population consider themselves to be of East Indian background. Today Caribbean/East Indian dishes are quite different from traditional East Indian.
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