Jamaican cooking with Cedella Marley: Curry with ritty roti

Published: Aug 4, 2017, 11:21 am • Updated: Aug 4, 2017, 11:21 am

By Special To The Cannabist

Editor’s note: In Cedella Marley’s new book “Cooking with Herb,” she shares cannabis-enhanced recipes brimming with Jamaican flavors. She also offers a peek into the family life of her well-known parents, Bob and Rita Marley, and the foundation for healthy eating they established with their children. Get a taste of what’s in store in this excerpt and traditional Jamaican recipes shared with The Cannabist:

My mother, Rita, loves her roti filled with chicken foot curry, and I like seitan or tofu. But honestly, this coconut-rich curry is delicious made with just about anything from calabaza squash to cauliflower, eggplant, or cabbage … or try it with goat like they make it in the Caribbean.

Roti is a flatbread that we stuff with cooked yellow split peas. They are griddle-cooked until both sides are blistered a little and the roti is flaky and tender. Rip it up and dunk it in the curry — oh, is it good!

Chef’s note: The roti can be made and rolled a day ahead of cooking, then griddled the next day. Just wrap them well in plastic so they don’t dry out.

Curry with Ritty Roti

Yield: 8 roti (5mg THC per serving)

Ingredients

ROTI

1/3 cup yellow split peas

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground ancho or chipotle chile (not the chili powder used to make chili)

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

3 tablespoons chilled coconut oil (so it is solid)

8 tablespoons melted butter or ghee

CURRY

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 tablespoon annatto seeds

1 medium yellow onion, quartered and thickly sliced crosswise

1 Scotch bonnet pepper, finely chopped (seeded for less heat)

1 tablespoon Jamaican curry powder 1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

2 teaspoons fine sea salt

1 can (13.5 ounces) light coconut milk

2 tablespoons canna-oil

8 ounces protein or hearty vegetables (such as seitan, tofu, eggplant, calabaza squash, cauliflower, boneless and skinless chicken thighs), cut into bite-size pieces (about 2 cups)

3 medium red or purple potatoes (about 3/4 pound), cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 cups green peas (fresh or frozen)

Chopped fresh parsley (optional), for serving

Making canna-oil: Essential info on infusing cooking oils — coconut, olive, canola and others

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Instructions

Make the roti:

1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add the split peas, reduce the heat to medium-low, and gently simmer until the split peas are tender, about 30 minutes. Drain the split peas into a fine-mesh sieve. Set aside.

2. While the split peas are cooking, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cumin, chile powder, and turmeric in a medium bowl. Add the solid coconut oil and work it in with your fingers until the dough is flaky. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add 6 tablespoons cool water. Start to work the ingredients together — after 30 seconds to 1 minute, you should be able to squeeze a small bit of dough and have it stick together without crumbling apart. If it is still too dry, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it holds together. Continue to knead the dough gently, pressing it against the sides of the bowl until it is soft and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Cover the dough with a damp paper towel and set aside to rest for 30 minutes.

Roll out the roti dough:

3. Place the dough on a floured work surface. Roll it back and forth to shape it into a log about 6 inches long, then cut it crosswise into 4 equal pieces. Flour the work surface again and use a rolling pin to roll one portion into an 8-inch round about 1⁄16 inch thick, reflouring the dough and work surface and flipping the dough over occasionally so it doesn’t stick. Brush the dough with some of the melted butter (save the remainder for cooking the roti). Sprinkle 1⁄4 cup of the cooled split peas over the dough in an even layer and use your hands to press them into the dough. Use a paring knife to make a slit in the dough from the center of the round to an edge. Lift one side, tuck the cut edge under and roll the dough around to the other side so you end up with a cone shape that is narrow at the base and wide at the top.

4. Hold the cone in one hand and use your fingers to press the ragged ends into the middle of the cone, without pushing all the way through the cone (it will look something like a donut). Flip the cone over and repeat with the other side. You will end up with a fat donut-shaped piece of dough. Set the roti on a floured plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough and let them rest for 45 minutes.

While the roti rests, make the curry:

5. Add the coconut oil and annatto seeds to a small saucepan set over medium heat. Infuse the oil, stirring often, until the oil is tinted red, 11⁄2 to 2 minutes, taking care not to let the seeds burn. Strain the oil through a fine-mesh sieve and into a large pot. Discard the seeds.

6. Set the pot over medium-high heat and add the onion, garlic, and Scotch bonnet, cooking until they soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the curry powder, coriander, paprika, allspice, and salt. Once the spices are fragrant, about 30 seconds, add the coconut milk and 1⁄2 cup water. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and add the CannaOil, protein or hearty vegetable, potatoes, and bell pepper. Cover the pot and simmer, stirring often so nothing sticks to the bottom, until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Taste and season with more salt if needed. Remove from the heat.

Finish the roti:

7. Place the first piece of dough on a lightly floured work surface and slice it in half horizontally (so you have 2 circles). Flour the top of one piece and roll it into a very thin 61⁄2- to 7-inch-diameter round. Repeat with the other pieces of dough to make 8 rolled roti.

8. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Use a silicone or pastry brush to lightly coat the pan with some melted butter. Set one rolled dough in the skillet, and cook until the top bubbles, 1 to 2 minutes. Brush the top with melted butter. Use a spatula to flip the roti over and brush the second side with melted butter. Cook until the bottom is golden with brown spots, 11⁄2 to 2 minutes total. Flip and cook the other side until it has brown spots, then transfer the roti to a large plate and cover with a towel. Repeat with the remaining dough circles.

Finish the curry:

9. Add the peas to the curry and warm the mixture over medium heat until the peas are warmed through, about 2 minutes. Serve the curry sprinkled with parsley and with the roti on the side.

Reprinted from “Cooking with Herb” by arrangement with Pam Krauss Books/Avery, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © 2017, Cedella Marley.

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Topics: cedella marley, Cedella Marley recipes, cooking with cannabis, jamaica