Curry excursion

Part 2

NEWSDAY took a few trips around the island in search of some other special roti flavours that keep customers going back for more, over and over again.

Roti shops were selected following a poll done by Foodie Nation, an online website that focuses on local food and recipes, and as well, a subsequent Facebook poll which asked people to submit their favourite roti shops.

Yesterday we featured some favourite roti shops in the east, on our roti run. Today we highlight a few more with their own special roti flavours, this time from the southland.

D’s Roti Shop at Kelly Junction, Guaracara Tabaquite Main Road, Williamsville is a family-oriented shop which was started by siblings Shobha Sookdeo and Dino Rajpaul 12 years ago. It now includes main chef Naila Balkaran and Susan Balkaran.

While driving to the “hole-in-the-wall” shop, it popped out at you.

The taste of all of their dishes was grand and to die for, from the pepper roti for breakfast to the duck, goat and chicken rotis served for lunch.

Sookdeo said they don’t do beef or pork, to facilitate the largely Muslim community. There are also fast day (Thursdays) meals when rice, dhal and shrimp or bhagi, soya and potato roti are served. The shop opens Monday-Friday from 7 am.

Sookdeo said a lot of their customers are from quarries and water parks in the area and others on their way to Mayaro.

On what attracts customers, Sookdeo said: “We are different, because of our quality and the taste especially. Also, we provide a size that is second to none for the price.”

Karamath’s on the Coffee in San Fernando, in operation for the past 75 years, and run by Zanabi Karamath for the past 40 years, was a beehive of activity. Some 200 customers pass through on a daily basis, for takeaway breakfast and lunches only.

Best sellers are “piper” rotis (meatless), cups of dhal, chicken roti, dhalpuri skins and buss-up shot. Everything sells – chicken, goat, duck, beef, shrimp, liver and gizzard – and as at all the other roti shops, chicken is the best seller

“I don’t know what make us different from other roti shops, but people have their own choices.”

Since Sumintra’s at Katwaroo Trace, Penal opened its doors three years ago, a beaming Indira Ramsaran said: “We have no complaints. We have our customers and our regulars who love our speciality, our stew chicken roti and more so our crab and dumpling on a Thursday. Customers will leave from however far and will come for that crab and dumpling and our bake and shark. They don’t have to go to Mayaro for that no more. They say ours is the best.”

It’s open from 5 am-1 pm, and customers can get fry baigan and aloo, fry ochro, fry caraille, fry bodi, pumpkin, dasheen bhagi, bake and buljol for breakfast; then for lunch, duck, goat, curry chicken, stew chicken and shrimp rotis, and their Thursday crab and dumpling special. There is also a cassava and fish special.

Asked what makes them different from all other roti shops, Ramsaran blurted out triumphantly: “Size, quality, taste – and love.”