Kuchela, also spelled kucheela, occasionally also kuchila, is a hot

relish A relish is a cooked and pickled product made of chopped vegetables, fruits or herbs and is a food item typically used as a condiment to enhance a staple. Examples are chutneys and the North American relish, a pickled cucumber jam eaten with ho ...

of the Trinidadian cuisine. Main ingredient of kuchela is the pulp of unripe mangoes that has been grated and thoroughly strained, if necessary by drying. Afterwards it is mixed with amchar massala and various additional spices. Amchar massala is a blend of spices containing

cilantro Coriander (;

seeds, cumin,

fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

seeds, fenugreek seeds, brown mustard seeds, and peppercorns. The hotness level is regulated by adding either fresh peppers (

scotch bonnet Scotch bonnet (also known as Bonney peppers, or Caribbean red peppers) is a variety of chili pepper named for its supposed resemblance to a Scottish tam o' shanter bonnet. It is ubiquitous in West Africa as well as the Caribbean. Like the clos ...

s and "congo peppers" (

habanero The habanero (; ) is a hot variety of chili. Unripe habaneros are green, and they color as they mature. The most common color variants are orange and red, but the fruit may also be white, brown, yellow, green, or purple. Typically, a ripe hab ...

s) being common) or a hot sauce. The relish is then seasoned to tasted with salt, sugar and garlic; vinegar is also common. By adding oil, usually

mustard oil Mustard oil can mean either the pressed oil used for cooking, or a pungent essential oil also known as volatile oil of mustard. The essential oil results from grinding mustard seed, mixing the grounds with water, and extracting the resulting vola ...

, the texture can be adjusted. As a relish, kuchela is used in a lot of ways, for example as a side dish to

curries A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included. There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradi ...

pelau Pelau is a traditional rice dish of the West Indies ( Guadeloupe, Dominica and Caribbean countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Barbados and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines). Main ingredients are meat (usually chicken or beef, rice, pig ...

(a rice dish similar to pilaf) or as a topping for doubles. Kuchela, as well as the contained spice blend amchar masala, has Indian roots.{{cite web , url=https://www.uncommoncaribbean.com/2010/10/25/taste-of-the-caribbean-kuchela-adds-true-trini-flavor-to-almost-anything/ , title=Taste Of The Caribbean: Kuchela Adds True Trini Flavor To Almost Anything , publisher=UncommonCaribbean.com , accessdate=2017-07-07 Roughly 40% of all Trinidadians are of Indian descent. Their ancestors came to Trinidad as indentured labourers from the mid 19th century on and brought with them their traditional recipes of their home provinces, which were subsequently adapted to the local offer of provisions. Nowadays kuchela (and amchar masala) are available as industrially produced, packaged goods in supermarkets. In neighboring Guyana, which as a former British colony shares parts of its colonial heritage with Trinidad, exists a similar relish called "mango achar".

References

External links

Illustrated preparation instruction
at SimplyTriniCooking.com Trinidad and Tobago cuisine Condiments Pickles

See also

References

External links