Murtani/ Upar Gaar/ Pepper Choka
Emily (a self-proclaimed “pepper mouth”) learns how to make Murtani aka Upar Gaar or Pepper Choka with help from Reshmi from Taste of Trini! Murtani is an Indo- Trinidadian dish that is made by roasting hot peppers and vegetables over an open flame and combining them to form a delicious side dish. Murtani is definitely on the spicy side and its bold, smokey flavours pairs perfectly with sada roti. Let’s how much of a “pepper mouth” Emily really is.
Adapted from Taste of Trini
Murtani Ingredients
- 3 tomatoes
- 2 baigan/ eggplant/ melongene/ aubergine
- 6 -8 small ochroes
- 1 – 2 scotch bonnet peppers or pimento peppers
- 1 whole onion
- 2 heads of garlic
- 5 shadon beni leaves
- 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons of Cuisine Soyabean Oil
- Salt – to taste
Method:
- Thoroughly wash the tomatoes, baigan, ochroes and peppers. Dry completely.
- Roast each vegetable (including the onion and garlic) on an open flame until the skins are entirely charred. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Slice the baigan and ochroes down the middle and carefully scoop out the flesh into a separate bowl. Peel the roasted onion and add it to the baigan and ochro mixture.
- Peel the garlic, remove the stems from the peppers and smash together using a mortar and pestle. Add the shadon beni leaves and continue to grind the ingredients together.
- Transfer the garlic/pepper/shadon beni mix to the bowl with the remaining roasted vegetables and mash together to form a paste.
- Add lemon juice and salt, to taste.
- In a small pan, heat the Cuisine Soyabean Oil to smoking point and carefully add to the vegetable paste.
- Stir together and serve.
Check out the video here
