Wrap It Up! (or not)

Tasty Thursday Edition 20

Ingredients for a favorite meal

YOU SEE: Potatoes and curry powder?

I SEE: ROTI!

***

It’s a still evening following a still day, where the black-tip reef sharks circling the boat leave v-shaped wakes behind their dorsals when they come close to the surface. The grey sharks swish their tails into stilness-disturbing blotches. All of these are attracted by the sound of the watermaker, which Jeremy and I surmise, sounds like the rhythmic pulses of a dying fish. That theory doesn’t explain why they keep circling the boat as we set our chairs up on the foredeck to watch the sunset, but we’ve enjoyed the entertainment in any case

fins to the left . . .

***

A long time ago, Jeremy fell in love with roti, a curry-stuffed West Indian burrito (I have no idea which came first.) So I bought a cookbook and tried to figure out how to make it; I promise you if we ever get back to Trinidad I will take a cooking class to learn the kinds of tricks that cookbooks largely hide. Probably there’s more oil involved, and certainly a larger pan, and I’d guess a more powerful burner. In any case, it’s a meal we love, not only for the flavors but also for the memories. Every bite takes straight to the Caribbean, to Trinidad and to the BVI. It’s a heady thing when a recipe does that.

Our version is more open-faced than wrap it up. It still involves seasoned split peas stuffed into dough and rolled out, then cooked on a dry skillet. Our preferred homemade version is curried potatoes, not chicken or goat or kingfish. We’re out of kuchela and even mango chutney, though the meal definitely needs some sweet and some heat (we subbed in some peach preserves and some Panamanian hotsauce, not exactly successful but better than nothing.)

Potatoes last a long time in the veg hammock. Garlic too. Canned pineapples are not a thing anywhere in French Polynesia, but I preserved some we bought at a side-of-the-road stand when we were in Tahiti. Flour and baking powder, even Crisco, are a pantry staple aboard. I turned the bones from a rotisserie chicken into chicken stock, so I even had a jar of that golden goodness to add in.

***

ROTI

3 parts is daunting. Not really. Curry is always better made the day before, and if you spread out the work it just all comes together.

1. Curried potatoes

• 4-7 potatoes, washed and scrubbed and peeled if desired

• ¼ c vegetable oil (coconut oil would also be delicious)

• 6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

• ½ tsp dried rosemary

• 2 heaping TBS curry powder, whatever brand you prefer. (I like Sun)

• 1 can chunk pineapple in juice (or use a fresh pineapple!)

• 2 c liquid – stock, broth, or water

1. Thinly slice the potatoes

2. Heat the oil in a large pot. Add garlic, rosemary, and curry powder and cook until sizzling and you can smell the garlic and curry, about 30 seconds.

3. Stir in the pineapple and juice.

4. Add the potatoes and stir to get the curry mix on the potatoes, as best you can.

5. Pour in the liquid and stir again, then cover and put on low to cook until the potatoes are tender.

2. Dough

• 2 c flour (I use half ww)

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp sugar

• ½ tsp salt

• 1 TBS vegetable shortening

• about ¾ c water

1. Mix dry ingredients together, then cut in the shortening until it’s almost sand-textured. Drizzle in water until a soft dough forms. (you might need more or less water depending on humidity.)

2. Dump the dough onto a floured board and knead for a few seconds, to form a nice ball. Put in an ungreased bowl and cover it. Let rest for at least 30 minutes.

3. Filling for dough

• 1 c cooked lentils or split peas (you can use canned lentils. Or cook up a batch of peas or lentils and freeze the rest!)

• 1 tsp ginger

• ½ tsp turmeric

• pinch salt

• NO EXTRA WATER OR LIQUID!!!!!

1. Mash it all together (a small food processor is ideal; a masher or even a fork will work too), not quite a paste but not whole pieces either.

2. Put filling into a bowl and set aside for later.

ROTI

Knead the dough for a couple of seconds. Cut it into 4 parts.

Form one part into a ball, then flatten to wider than your hand. Cup the dough in your hand and spoon in filling, 2 TBS +. Pinch the dough closed around the filling, forming a ball. Dust with flour and flatten, then set aside to rest. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

Rest for 20 minutes or so.

Dust ball with flour. Flatten with your hand, then using a rolling pin or wine bottle, roll out the dough so it’s thin enough to see the filling through the dough. Might wind up 12-14 inches in diameter or more; if your skillet is smaller than this, make more smaller roti.

On an ungreased skillet, cook the roti until it is showing brown spots on one side, then flip it.

Top roti with curried potatoes, and serve with other toppings.

Sky dolphin and wake. Te Tautua, Tongareva (Penryhn), Cook Islands. June 4, 2026