MmmmMmm!! This Guyanese classic will make your whole house smell like sweetened coconut! So flaky, soft, slightly sweet, simply delicious. My recipe caters to certain allergies - it is eggless & dairy free. Enjoy!
Time: 1.5 hours
Ingredients:
Dough:
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 packet yeast
- 1 cup warm Lactaid (can use milk if you want)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon apple sauce (this replaces the egg)
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 1/4 cup + 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1 tablespoon I Can't Believe it's not Butter, melted
Filling:
- 2 cups dried coconut flakes
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 spoons water
- 5-6 drops red food coloring
Recipe:
- Disolve the yeast in 1/4 cup water & the teaspoon white sugar.
- Place it in a dark warm area to activate for 10 minutes (I put mine in the microwave with it turned off).
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, salt, & cinnamon. Once the flour mixture is combined, cut the shortening in (until no chunks remain).
- After the yeast activates, add the warm Lactaid, yeast mixture & applesauce to the flour. Knead to form a dough.
- Place the dough in a greased basin (I used vegetable oil to grease mine) covered with foil for 1 hour. Dough will double in size.
- While the dough is rising, you can make the filling. Combine all of the filling ingredients and mix well so the food coloring is absorbed by all of the coconut. You may need to add more water, you don't want the filling to be very dry.
- Once the hour is up & the dough has risen, punch it in the middle so the air comes out. Then, split the dough into 2 equal parts (you'll be making 2 rolls).
- Use a rolling pin & a light dusting of flour to roll out each dough to a rectangle.
- Scoop half of the filling into each rectangle & spread to distribute evenly. Make sure the filling is all around the edges so you get a really good design!
- Bake on 350 for 10 minutes, then brush on some of your melted I Can't Believe it's not Butter, and bake again for another 5-10 minutes until golden brown.
Let cool completely before cutting into slices.
One of my fave Guyanese meals - it tastes complicated but is easy to make! Just takes a little longer than my typical recipes. In my tastebud's & stomach's opinion, it is worth the wait!
Time: ~1.5 hours + dough set time
Ingredients:
Saltfish Stew:
- ~1.5 lbs of salt fish (can be purchased at a West Indian grocery store)
- ~1/2 a large tomato, diced
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2-3 wiri-wiri peppers (or peppers of your choice)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Bake:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1.5 teaspoon crushed red peppers
- 1.5 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1.5 cups vegetable oil
Recipe:
- Soak the saltfish overnight in water (to help get the salt out of it).
- Mix the above Bake ingredients in a basin & kneed the dough
- Cover the basin with a towel or plate & set aside to rise for at least an hour (can leave it during the day if you're making it before work)
- Boil the saltfish in ~3 cups of water. Strain then keep washing it under the faucet until most of the fishy smell goes away. I added lemon juice to help but it is optional.
- In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil with the onions & garlic for about 5 mins until the onion is transparent.
- Add the saltfish, let it simmer and brown, breaking it apart into small chunks.
- Add the tomatoes & mix to incorporate the ingredients.
- Throw in the peppers if desired & then let the ingredients simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes.
- While the saltfish is stewing, take the dough out & roll it down to about 1/4 inch thick.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the bake into triangular slices.
- Heat the 1.5 cups vegetable oil in a small pot to medium heat.
- Slowly add the bake slices 1 by 1 and fry each for about 20-30 seconds or until each bake is golden brown.
- Serve the saltfish stew with 2-3 bake & enjoy!
Whenever I re-create one of my favorite Guyanese dishes, I feel extra excited to share the recipe with you all! This recipe is now approved by my parents, grandparents & fiancé, phew! Enjoy!
Time: 45 mins
Ingredients:
- ~4-5 lbs of lamb meat (ask the butcher to chop it up for stew)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 2-3 plum tomatoes
- 3-4 hot peppers, whole
- 2-3 potatoes, diced
- 1-3 cups of water
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup fresh ginger, chopped
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
Recipe:
- Cut the lamb meat into smaller bite-sized pieces.
- In a large pot, bring the vegetable oil to medium heat. Add the onion & let it cook until opaque.
- Add the garlic & ginger, sauté for about 3-4 minutes.
- Put the lamb meat into the pot with the potato pieces.
- Add the tomato paste, stir to coat the lamb & potatoes with the paste.
- Pour in the water, salt, & plum tomatoes.
- Bring a water to a boil, add the hot peppers, then lower to a simmer & cover the pot.
- You'll want to stir the stew every so often to make sure the tomatoes are melting down & the potatoes are cooked through. If you see the stew drying down, add some more water & salt. I always put 2 cups initially & that seems fine for this amount of meat.
- When the potatoes are cooked, uncover the pot & raise the heat to medium. You want the liquid to reduce to about half, so you have a nice gravy. Taste for salt at this time too.
- Serve with white or brown rice, or roti!
