From Khadija Ali of Tiffin's, Port of Spain Potato Chana Curry
The foods of Trinidad are such an amalgam, not only of the produce and cooking styles of Africans, Amer-Indians, Indians, Syrians, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, and French but also of different periods in the food histories of all those involved.
I make this with both pumpkin and Hubbard squash. From a 3 -pound segment with skin, I am usually left with about 2 pounds of seedless, skinless flesh.
You may serve this with most Indian meals. For a more elaborate meal with an international feel, I like to put this dish together with Palestinian Rice with Lentils and Browned Onions (page 404), Sliced Tomatoes in a Tomato Sauce (page 303), some greens, such as Sautéed Spinach with Dill and Onion (page 225), and a yogurt relish or cheese dish.
Somewhere between a curry and a sweet chutney, this dish may be served with all South Asian, Malay-style, and Middle Eastern meals.
You need half-ripe mangoes here. Since these are what most commonly pass for mangoes in the Western world, they should not be hard to find. Each mango should be hard with yellow or pale orange flesh.
For the curry powder, I like to use Bolst's hot version. Ready-made amchar masala is sold by Caribbean grocers, though you can easily make your own and store it.
I've cooked this recipe for years now. I usually add an extra quart of water for more broth. I've been known to substitute pickled sliced banana peppers for the jalapeño peppers. Found this recipe at the St-Laurent library in Montréal, and later re-discovered this "new" book of Natural Foods at a garage sale in Ottawa.
The tarka this time is of cumin and mustard seeds, but they provide only the background taste. It is the tomato-cream sauce, flavored with the aromatic garam masala, that provides for the main flavors in this dish.
