Roti: An Expose

Growing up as a small child of African ancestry in Trinidad, eating Roti was as normal a part of my life as playing with my friends at recess; after all everyone did it. Little did I know that something I took for granted in the late 90s was not so normal just a decade earlier. In fact, the position held by Roti in Trinidad and Tobago cuisine and culture had been many years in the making. Surprisingly, after much research I came to the realization that this food which held so much significance in my life, also held similar yet different significance in the lives of an entire group of people in the island of my mother’s birth. The evolution of Roti along with its gradual acceptance by the citizens of Trinidad and beyond mirrored the economic and social progression of its original consumers, the East Indian citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.

When I think back on my childhood, I realize that many of my happiest memories centered on my favorite West Indian cuisine; Roti. My mother always said that I was her most difficult child to feed; I refused to eat some foods such as oatmeal because it felt funny in my mouth; I would not eat other foods if they touched any item on my plate that I did not like. Whatever the reason, feeding me was always a battle and my stubborn attitude allowed me to win most of these battles. However, despite my selective nature regarding the foods I would eat, Roti was always the one food that my mother never had a problem getting me to eat. To most people Roti would have been considered just simple flat bread, but in my childlike mind it was the most scrumptious food I could be given to eat.

I will always remember walking around The Savannah in St. Clair, Trinidad with my mother and brother on Saturday afternoons. After a busy morning of often times unsuccessful swim practices or tedious piano lessons, I always looked forward to this time where I could purchase and eat my favorite food and just spend time with my family and relax. The official name for The Savannah is The Queen’s Park Savannah, a beautiful and extensive park on the outskirts of the city of Port of Spain which is home to The Magnificent Seven (seven majestic historical buildings reminiscent of Trinidad’s colonial past) and  numerous beautiful Saman trees. At any time of day one could find adults relaxing, talking and laughing and enjoying the many culinary delicacies which could be purchased from the vendors around The Savannah. As children we used these huge trees as hiding places in hide and go seek or bases in cricket. Even as a child I was aware of the atmosphere of happiness and simplicity that surrounded the park.

Another major aspect of the park that enhanced this atmosphere was the street vendors. These vendors who congregated around the edges of the park sold a variety of local culinary delicacies and crafts; everything from Trinidad’s famous coconut water and doubles, to fudge and snow cones, jewelry and dresses. After we had relaxed and had a bit of fun with the other kids, my mom would always let us choose something to buy from one of the vendors. My brother who wasn’t a picky eater would choose something different every time, but I would stick to the same thing no matter what…Roti and a snow cone. The Roti from the street vendors was always moist, piping hot, and buttered to perfection. If I was lucky my mom would allow me to eat a piece right then and there, but that was not usually the case. Instead I would have to endure a long car ride back home sucking on what was left of my snow cone while being taunted by the delicious smells wafting through the thin wax paper in which the Roti was wrapped. Finally we would make it home and my Roti would be devoured in literally a matter of minutes.

            

Some of my memories of Roti also involved the actual making of this wonderful dish. I remember going to my grandmother’s house on the weekends and watching her make Roti. My grandmother has always been an excellent cook who luckily enough for me took joy in cooking for my brother and me. My mother says she spoiled me by always making my favorite food, but I just call it unconditional love. I remember sitting in the small kitchen in her house watching her knead out the dough for the Roti. I was not old enough and did not really know enough to contribute significantly to the process, but sometimes my grandmother would let me knead the dough for a while or gather ingredients at her direction. My grandmother never went by any written recipe and didn’t even measure out the ingredients. She would simply “eye ball” it and throw it in the bowl. It was amazing to me how she always seemed to know exactly how much of each ingredient she needed and every time the result would be the same; Roti which was moist, flaky and cooked to perfection.

            

Before embarking on this project if I had been asked why Roti is significant to my family and myself, I would have spewed off  a long answer about how the dish had been in my family for generations, how we all ate it, how I grew up on it etc etc. However, after interviewing my mother and grandmother I discovered that my previously held assumptions were completely false. Roti was not in fact passed down for generations in my family and indeed was nonexistent in the food diets of my great grandparents. In fact, I discovered that while they were aware of the dish, my grandmother never ate Roti and my mother seldom ate Roti while growing up.  This gave rise to a number of questions about this dish once I realized that it could not be considered a very old or multi –generational family tradition and lacked connection to our African origin and culture. I was interested to know how and when did this food become a part of their diets to the extent that it is now so significant to me.

After considering these questions and talking further to both my mother and grandmother, I concluded that although Roti cannot be considered a family tradition dating back several generations, it still holds immense meaning to me. In my family I believe Roti is symbolic of times of togetherness and simplicity. For us making and/or enjoying a meal of Roti and all the fixings  is a time when we can all put down the strains and demands of  life  and simply take a few hours to truly enjoy each other’s company and the blessings we have. When my family and I make and eat a Roti meal, nobody is thinking about the work that has to get done, or the bad thing that happened yesterday; instead we’re enjoying the company of each other, telling stories, gossiping, laughing and as my mom would say “liming”. “Liming” is a popular Trinidadian pastime which involves just “shooting the breeze” with friends and family on a weekend or holiday while enjoying good food and drink which is often prepared during the “lime.” 

           

Not only does Roti hold significant meaning to my family and me, but it is also significant to the East Indian population of Trinidad. The Indian population of Trinidad and Tobago as they are commonly called, first arrived in Trinidad in 1845 as indentured servants (MacDonald 22-23). These East Indians came from poorest parts of India and migrated to Trinidad in hope of a better life after their period of indentureship was over. They worked on sugar cane and cocoa plantations and continued to live for many years in states of abject poverty. For example as recently as the late 1960s Indians could still be found living in Tapia houses made of mud and thatched roofs, whereas Africans lived in houses built of wood and the most affluent people lived in concrete block houses (Nurse, M). The types of food eaten by these Indians were also the most basic and rudimentary with Roti serving as a staple in their everyday diets. After researching the ingredients used in Roti it becomes clear why this dish was one of the primary foods eaten by Indians. The ingredients that go into Roti, flour, salt, oil and baking powder, are basic, inexpensive, and easily accessible. To put it simply, Indians ate Roti, not because of its cultural significance or even culinary appeal but because it was an inexpensive yet filling meal that was essentially all they could afford to eat.

When questioning my mother about her childhood experiences with Roti, I was shocked to learn that she didn’t really have any. When I asked why she replied, “I didn’t eat Roti as a child because it was not a food eaten by Africans and there was a certain stigma of poverty attached to it.” She has several recollections of attending a public elementary school with Indian children who would hide their roti lunches and the greasy brown bags they were in at lunch time because they were ashamed. My mother being African would have a cheese or peanut butter sandwich on store bought sliced bread which was packed in a plastic sandwich box. She also recalls Indian students being made fun of because they wore no shoes lived in mud houses and were often not among the smartest in the class. East Indians had a lot stacked against them when my mother and grandmother were children. This stigma associated with poverty was also attached to the foods they ate.  As a result, during those years in the sixties and early seventies, Roti was not perceived to be a socially acceptable dish among any race but East Indians.

            

The way in which Indians made Roti was also symbolic of their extreme penury. “When I was little, Indians made Roti outside on a flat stone called a tawa, over an open fire. They were so poor they couldn’t afford stoves or even electricity. An outside fire was their only means of cooking.” (Nurse, D). When many of the plantations closed or their indentureship was over, Indians were the ones who took the jobs sweeping the streets and selling in the markets. Some enterprising Indians would go from door to door selling cow’s and goat’s milk from their own animals. Others became market vendors who sold vegetables grown in their own fields (Nurse, M). They held jobs that even the Africans or creoles as they were called wouldn’t do and remained known as “cane cutters.” (Seesaran 39). For many years they wore no shoes and their clothing was always very basic wrapped cotton saris for the women and dhotis for the men.

            

East Indians were “looked down on” by the rest of the Trinidadian population because of their extreme poverty and by extension, so were the things or foods associated with them. Trinidad and Tobago’s history involves colonial influences by the French, Spanish and English. The latest colonial rulers prior to the country’s Independence in 1962 were the English (Nurse, D). Because of its history Trinidad and Tobago has always been a very class conscious and class oriented society. According to my mother and grandmother, one’s societal status and acceptance was determined by their profession/ job and consequently their net worth. Because of the unskilled and low paying jobs Indians were forced to accept, for many years they remained at the bottom of both the social and economic ladders as a people group in Trinidad (MacDonald 89).   

            

Over time the ingredients and methods behind making Roti evolved and so did the overall status of East Indians in Trinidad. For instance, for the health conscious Indians, more expensive whole wheat flour began to be substituted for the plain white flour that was used before and imported pure butter (called ghee) became one of the essential main ingredients. Indians went from eating Roti with fried basic home grown vegetables or nothing at all, to eating it with a curry stew made different types of meats such as goat, chicken, beef and even shrimp. The types of Roti made by Indians also expanded from one type of basic plain Roti, to numerous types which varied by ingredients and cooking methods. The way in which Indians made Roti also evolved from being cooked over an open outside fire, to being cooked inside a concrete block house on an electric stove or griddle.

            

The changes occurring in the traditional foods of East Indians were paralleled by significant changes to the economic and social lives and status of that population sector in Trinidad. Second generation Indians exploited their work ethic as well as the available public education system and began to acquire secondary and tertiary education. This enabled them to leave behind the menial jobs which were the only ones once available to their parents. For the first time Indians who were once the poorest and least educated group in Trinidad were able to compete for top jobs as government officials and to hold professional positions as doctors, lawyers, engineers and the like (Cross 11). These Indians who were once too poor to even have a proper stove were now among the most educated and economically affluent in Trinidad and were now numbered among those at the top of the social class.  In fact I recall several Indians as classmates in the very exclusive private school my brother and I attended as children in the early nineties. They could also be found taking the same ballet, swimming and piano classes that I did; they were teammates with my bother as he took soccer, karate and Tae Kwan Do lessons; something which would have been unheard of in my grandmother’s and to a certain degree my mother’s generation.

It should be noted that while the evolution of Roti as a dish can probably be attributed simply to the passage of time and exposure, the economic improvements in the lives of Indians is no accident. As told by my grandmother and mother, although Indians remained poor for many years, they were always the most hardworking sector of the population. Their lack of education excluded them for participating in life in mainstream Trinidad for a long time. However when presented with the opportunity to become educated, they embraced and literally ran with that opportunity (MacDonald 89-90). They then very strategically used education to leverage themselves into their present economic and social positions in Trinidad society. The East Indians of Trinidad have progressed so far that the highest position of prime minister is now held by an East Indian woman.  

            

With the newfound economic success and social mobility of many Indians came a wider acceptance of East Indians as a people group and their cultural associations. Roti gradually went from being seen as a poor man’s dish, to a dish that now enjoys widespread acceptance by all races and classes of Trinidadians as well as visitors to that island. It can be found as one of the main courses served at extravagant events held at top level governmental and private parties and social events. Roti can also be found on the menus of exclusive Indian and multicultural restaurants served on fine china and eaten with the best silver and table linens.  Because of its annual Carnival celebration which is similar to that of Brazil and New Orleans’ Mardi Gras; Trinidad enjoys the status of being one the Caribbean’s premier tourist destinations during the winter and Roti has now become one of the first foods requested and enjoyed by tourists on arrival.

            

Paradigm Shift is the term which comes to mind when I consider the evolution which has taken place in the perception, societal acceptance and per capita consumption of Roti in Trinidad and Tobago. What was once a simple dish prepared and consumed primarily out of economic necessity, has along with its original consumers become almost a national icon in the space of twenty or so short years. The evolution of the Roti and rise to economic and social prominence of its original consumers represents a classic example of the possibilities which can be realized with desire, time and hard work. Despite the conclusions which have been drawn from an analysis of the food itself, to me Roti simply represents a tasty treat which is reminiscent of my childhood and the land of my ancestors and which I look forward to eating here so many miles away, whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Grandma’s Roti Recipe

Ingredients:

Recipe for Roti (paratha)                                                                     

½ lb. flour

¼ teaspoon baking soda or powder

¼ teaspoon salt

Milk to mix.

Method:

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Add milk to mix to a stiff dough. Form into balls about the size of a small egg and flatten with a rolling pin. Daub with ghee then fold into a ball again. Roll out and cook on a pre- heated, hot baking stone. Turn constantly while cooking and spread plentifully with butter.

Works Cited

Cross, Malcom. The East Indians of Guyana and Trinidad. London: Minority Rights Groups, 1987. Print. 

MacDonald, Scott B. Trinidad and Tobago: democracy and development in the Caribbean. New York: Praeger, 1986. Print. 

Nurse, Dianne. Personal interview. 26 Nov. 2011.

Nurse, Monica. Personal interview. 26 Nov. 2011.

Seesaran, E. B. Rosabelle. From caste to class: social mobility of the Indo-Trinidadian community, 1870-1917. Trinidad and Tobago: Rosaac Pub. House, 2002. Print.

Picture from http://blog.jagaimo.com/archive/2007/05/22/besan-roti.aspx.