Belize is a melting pot of cultures, with Mayan, Mestizo, Creole, Garifuna, Asian, Gringo and East Indian components. That means there have been a lot of influences on food preparation over time, giving Belize cuisine a unique aspect.
Influences aside, we are sometimes faced with the conundrum of “What do I do with this funny-looking squash I picked up at the Saturday Market?” The Ayote is the “original” from which the American pumpkin emerged – Cucurbita argyrosperma – and you could make a great pumpkin pie with it. But if you’re looking for a main dish….
Let’s say you have been rooting through your vegetable bin and come up with a green and white squash which Belizeans call ayote tierno or “pumpkin,” a few stray vegetables (onions peppers, garlic, ginger), a couple of pieces of leftover fried chicken from the fridge – or some that’s not yet cooked – a packet of coconut milk powder which you bought on a whim some time ago, and the miscellaneous spices on your spice shelf (curry, allspice, maybe some cajun seasoning if you’re lucky).
Hmmm…… well, the following recipe is an old favorite from one of our neighboring Belizean families, an East Indian dish with a Belizean twist. Use whatever vegetables you have handy. Traditionally, the East Indians make their takari with cabbage instead of squash, so you can see how different it might taste with different vegetables! Basically, it’s a curried vegetable goulash. Vegetarians and vegans can leave out the chicken and consommé powder.
Takari – 4 portions. (Serve with rice. see Rice Piaf)
1 small ayote or small head of cabbage, shredded or ¾” cubes
2 medium onions, diced
2 sweet peppers, diced
1-2 chicken breasts (or two thighs), 1” chunks (raw or cooked)
2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
½ packet coconut milk powder
2 T. curry powder
1 t. chicken consommé powder or ½ t. salt
allspice, cajun flavoring spice to taste
2 T. oil
- Brown the curry, ginger, garlic, peppers and onions together in oil.
- Add cooked chicken chunks, or simmer uncooked chicken until cooked
- Add diced ayote and stir well, add salt or consommé to taste.
- Sprinkle most of the ½ pkg coconut milk powder (hold back a little)
- Add water to cover ingredients in the skillet and simmer to thicken first with lid on, then with lid off.
- Sprinkle on the the held-back coconut milk powder when it is nearly done, to add a stronger coconut note.
You’ll notice some larger pieces of chicken in the photos. Belizeans like to cook their chicken with the bones intact – they say it adds a lot of flavor. So those are chunks with bone in them. This was a medium to large ayote, about 7″ in diameter, so only about half was used in the takari.
See the recipe for Ayote Atole to use the rest of the pumpkin/ayote.