Kalalou

Ingredients

Meat or crab

• 4blue crabs, cleaned and halved
• or 600 g beef, in cubes
• or both together
• juice of 2 limes
• salt

Okra

• 700 gokra, sliced
• 1 tablespoonvinegar, optional

The pot

• 2onions, chopped
• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 4spring onions, sliced
• 3tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tablespoonstomato paste
• 1sweet pepper, chopped
• 3 tablespoonsoil
• 1whole scotch bonnet
• 3 sprigsthyme
• 2stock cubes
• about 1.5 litres water
• salt and black pepper

To serve

• mayi moulen, cornmeal
• or plain rice
• pikliz
• lime wedges

Directions

1. Discard any that is dead and untreated. Remove the gills and the stomach sac. Preparing the crab takes some work. Lift the top shell off each crab. Pull out the feathery grey gills. Remove the stomach sac behind the eyes. Rinse the crab body thoroughly. Cut each of the crabs in half.
2. Crack the claws with the back of a knife. Rub the crab or meat with lime juice. Add salt and work it in well too. Let it sit for a good ten minutes. Rinse it thoroughly afterwards. That washing is done as a matter of course.
3. Wash the okra and pat it completely dry. Trim all of the stem ends off. Wet okra releases far more mucilage. Cut it only once it is fully dry. Slice it into thin even rounds. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot. Add the chopped onions to the pot. Cook them for a good eight minutes.
4. Add the garlic and the spring onions. Cook them for a good two minutes. Stir the tomato paste in as well. Fry it for a good two minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and pepper. Cook them down for about eight minutes.
5. Add the beef if you are using it. Stir it through the tomato base. Add the water and the stock cubes. Add the thyme sprigs to the pot. Season it with salt and black pepper. Adding the scotch bonnet takes care.
6. Add the scotch bonnet whole and unbroken. It must never burst in the pot. Cover it over and simmer gently. Give beef about forty-five minutes. Add the sliced okra to the pot. Stir it all through thoroughly. Add the vinegar if you want less slime. Let it simmer for about twenty minutes. Short cooking leaves it firm and very slimy.
7. Cook it longer for a smoother stew. Adding the crab is done quite late. Add the crab pieces for the last fifteen minutes. Push them down into the hot stew.
8. Taste it and adjust the salt now. Add lime juice if it tastes flat. Add more pepper if you want heat. Serving it is done hot over cornmeal. Spoon mayi moulen onto plates. Ladle the kalalou over the top. Serve pikliz alongside the plate. It keeps three days refrigerated.

Technique

• The name traces back to Central and West African languages and travelled with the people who used it, giving Louisiana gumbo from a related root and calalou and callaloo across the Caribbean.
• The same word names different plants in different places: Trinidad callaloo is a taro leaf dish, Jamaican callaloo is amaranth, and Haitian kalalou is okra and the okra stew, which catches visitors out constantly.
• Okra’s mucilage is what thickens the stew and is wanted rather than a fault; cutting it fine releases more, cooking it whole releases less, acid cuts it and long cooking breaks it down, so cooks adjust it to taste.

Substitutions

• Beef, crab or both together are all used depending on what is available.
• Rice stands in for mayi moulen under the stew.

Variations

• Some cooks blend part of the okra for a smoother stew.
• A spoonful of vinegar reduces the sliminess noticeably.
• Pikliz, the pickled slaw, is served alongside as a matter of course.

History

Okra came to Haiti with enslaved West Africans, who kept the Bantu-derived name; the stew remains a Sunday dish served over mayi moulen.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kalalou?

Kalalou is a soup & stew from Haiti: okra stew with crab or beef, ladled over cornmeal. Okra came to Haiti with enslaved West Africans, who kept the Bantu-derived name; the stew remains a Sunday dish served over mayi moulen.

How long does Kalalou take to make?

Kalalou takes 35 minutes of preparation and 1 hour of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Kalalou?

Yes, within limits. Beef, crab or both together are all used depending on what is available. Rice stands in for mayi moulen under the stew.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kalalou?

Add the scotch bonnet whole and unbroken. It must never burst in the pot. Cover it over and simmer gently. Give beef about forty-five minutes. Add the sliced okra to the pot. Stir it all through thoroughly. Add the vinegar if you want less slime. Let it simmer for about twenty minutes. Short cooking leaves it firm and very slimy.