Pholourie (), also spelled ''phulourie'' or ''phoulourie'', is a snack food of Indo-Caribbean origin that is commonly eaten in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

as well as in Guyana, Suriname and other parts of the Caribbean. It consists of fried, spiced spilt pea and flour dough balls that are served with a

chutney A chutney is a spread in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion or mint dipping sa ...

Overview

The dough is made up of flour, ground split peas, water, and spices. Depending on the recipe, green seasoning, garlic, pepper,

turmeric Turmeric () is a flowering plant, ''Curcuma longa'' (), of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast ...

, onions and/or cumin are used. Then dough balls the size of golf balls are formed and fried afterwards. The fried balls are usually served with a

to dip them in, usually

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae ...

or mango. They are also added to karhi. Pholourie is a popular

street food Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumpt ...

in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago and widely available from food carts and takeaways. It is famous in

Debe Debe (or Débé) is a town in south Trinidad located in the region of Penal–Debe. Debe has grown from a small settlement into a key transit point which as has merged to some extent with Penal. A denomination high school was established by the ...

. The dish was brought to Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname by migrants from India. These Indians were recruited as indentured laborers after slavery had been abolished in the 19th century, and they brought their local recipes with them which they altered according to ingredients available in their new home. Over the decades, local taste slowly altered, leading to the Indian-based part of the

Caribbean cuisine Caribbean cuisine is a fusion of West African,"Cuisine."
(Caribbean.

known today. Pholourie is widely connected to the

Phagwah Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...

festival celebrated by

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

In popular culture

One of

Sundar Popo Sundar Popo HBM, born Sundarlal Popo Bahora (; 4 November 1943 – 2 May 2000) was a Trinidadian and Tobagonian musician. He is credited as being the father of Chutney music, beginning with his 1969 hit ''Nana and Nani''. Early life Popo w ...

's most famous songs is "Pholourie Bina Chutney Kaise Bani" (transl. What is pholourie without the

?).

References

{{portal, Trinidad and Tobago, Food Fast food Trinidad and Tobago cuisine Guyanese cuisine Surinamese cuisine Indo-Caribbean cuisine