Recipes

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Guyana

Guyana is the only nation in South America where English is the official language as a result of its being a British colony for many years. The first Europeans to take an interest in Guyana were the Dutch, who displaced many of the Indians (Caribs and Arawaks) to build sugarcane plantations, worked by slaves from Africa. The British took over and during the 19th and early 20th centuries brought in indentured workers from India, Portugal and China. Today the Guyanese call their country "the land of six peoples" (native, African, British, Indian, Chinese and Portuguese) and their cuisine reflects a variety of culinary traditions. Most people live in the coastal lowlands and grow rice and sugar cane, but a few natives descended from the Arawak and Carib peoples live inland. The "every day" cooking of most of the population does not vary much, using local fish, rice, coconuts, bananas, cassava yams, greens and salt meat, but there are still some interesting possibilities.

Bakes Makes about 9-3-inch bakes 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons lard or butter, chilled and cut into 1/4 inch bits 2 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons sugar dissolved in 1/4 cup of cold water 1 teaspoon salt vegetable oil for frying Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together into a large bowl and add the lard (or butter). Working quickly, use your fingertips to rub the flour and lard/butter together until it looks like coarse grains. Pour in sugar and water mixture all at once, toss together and gather the dough into a ball. If the dough crumbles, add a little more cold water, a teaspoon at a time, until it holds together. For each biscuit, pinch off about 2 tablespoons of dough and pat into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a round about three inches in diameter and 1/4 inch thick. Pour oil into a heavy 10 to 12 inch skillet to a depth of about 1/4 inch and heat it until hot but not smoking. Fry the bakes, four or five at a time for about three minutes on each side, turning them with a slotted spoon and regulating the heat so they color richly and evenly without burning. As they brown, transfer them to paper towels or newspaper to drain. Serve the bakes warm with butter or cheese, or sprinkle with a little brown sugar.