Saheena

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Saheena, guy roll up

Saheena (also Sahiena or Sahina ) ( pronunciation ? / I ) are a snack in Trinidadian cuisine . Audio file / audio sample

History and etymology

The court goes back to contract workers of Indian origin . Due to the end of slavery in 1840, the cheapest possible replacement for the slaves was sought for the plantations that dominated the economy at that time and found in contract workers from British India . Starting in 1840, workers were recruited in large numbers who were committed to at least five years and were promised five acres of land. By the First World War, 145,000 mainly East Indian workers immigrated to Trinidad, who adapted their usual recipes to the ingredients offered in their new home. According to the Dictionary of the English / Creole of Trinidad & Tobago , the word saheena comes from the Bihari language group and means “delicious” or “hearty”. The word is a collective and is used in the singular as well as in the plural.

Saheena are an everyday snack that is eaten both at home and in snack bars, but also served as a side dish on festive occasions such as the Divali festival or the festival of the breaking of the fast . Mobile breakfast stalls selling the Doubles popular all over Trinidad often have Saheena on offer too. While many dishes of the Indotrinidadian cuisine are common on other Caribbean islands as well as in Guyana due to their common migration history , the spread of Saheena is limited to Trinidad.

preparation

There are two common types of preparation for Saheena, a rather elaborate one ( roll up ) and a rather simple one ( cut up ). Both are based on the same ingredients, but since the proportion of the main ingredient and the method of production are different, the two variants differ in taste and texture. For both variants, a creamy dough is made from ground chickpeas or chickpea flour, flour, garlic, onions, spices and water. The most common seasoning for the dough is turmeric ; and cumin and pepper are used. Green seasoning can be added to the dough to round off the taste .

For the more complex variant ( roll up ), dasheen leaves and dough are layered, the dough is spread on the respective top of the current dasheen leaf. The stacked leaves are rolled up like roulades and fixed and then steamed, alternatively they are cooked in a waterproof bag. The rolls are then cut into slices; these are then turned in seasoned flour or other dough and baked. The batter for spreading needs to be a little less tough than the batter for deep-frying. The elaborate variant is primarily prepared for formal celebrations.

For the simple version ( cut up ) the Dasheenblätter be chopped, mixed with the dough and as shaped by hand, almost palm-sized cakes such as potato pancakes fried in oil or fat. The simple variant is the variant that is primarily found in snack bars. A greatly simplified preparation variant is frying a mixture of finely chopped dasheen leaves, water and industrially prepared Pholourie dough in portions.

Saheena are served with kuchela , a chutney or another seasoning sauce. Chutneys are ubiquitous in Indotrinid cuisine, the most common flavors are mango and tamarind . Chilli sauces are often used in combination with the other seasoning sauces. A common consumption method for the simple Saheena variant is to cut the flatbreads open and coat the insides with seasoning sauce before consumption. In Trinidad, Dasheen leaves are more likely to be available in markets than in supermarkets and therefore at somewhat more limited hours. If there are no dasheen leaves, spinach, which tastes similar, is often used as a substitute for the simple variant, and occasionally also leaf cabbage . Dasheen leaves cause hands itchy when handled manually; to prevent this, rub your hands with a little lime juice or moisten the dasheen leaves with a little lime juice.

The dish can also be used in the form of “Saheena Talkari”: The slices of the rolled-up Saheena variant are cooked in a curry sauce and served with the sauce.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dave DeWitt & Mary Jane Wilan: Callaloo, Calypso & Carnival. The Cuisines of Trinidad & Tobago . Crossing Press, Freedom 1993, ISBN 0-89594-639-4 , pp. 24 .
  2. ^ Lise Winer: Dictionary of the English / Creole of Trinidad & Tobago . McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal 2009, ISBN 978-0-7735-3406-3 , pp. 777 .
  3. ↑ a b SimplyTriniCooking.com: Saheena I. Retrieved June 13, 2020 .
  4. ↑ a b Ramin Ganeshram: Sweet Hands. Island Cooking from Trinidad & Tobago . Hippocrene Books, New York 2012, ISBN 0-7818-1125-2 , pp. 24 .
  5. ↑ a b c Kumar Mahabir: Indian Caribbean Folklore Spirits . Chakra Publishing House, San Juan 2010, ISBN 978-976-95049-5-0 , pp. 84 .
  6. ^ A b c The Multi-Cultural Cuisine of Trinidad & Tobago. Naparima Girls' High School Cookbook . 2nd Edition. Naparima Girls' High School, San Fernando 2002, ISBN 976-8173-65-3 , pp. 88 .
  7. ↑ a b Felix Padilla: Simply Trini Cooking . 2019, ISBN 978-1-5136-5716-5 , pp. 47 .
  8. ↑ SimplyTriniCooking.com: Saheena II. Retrieved June 13, 2020 .