Marinad
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Next thing I hear is my grandmother calling for me and she handed me what she told me was "marinad". I bit into this golden, fried perfection of flavorful, airy, and delicious ball of whatever it was and totally fell in love. It was the first time I have ever had marinad. I asked for more and I was totally crushed when she told me no. Apparently, she made it to sell as some of you may know, Haitian street food is definitely a thing and my grandmother was doing her thing.
One of my biggest regrets is not asking my grandmother how she made her marinad before she passed. Hence, I spent lots of time experimenting with various ways of making this before I found what I felt was the closest and tastiest version of what I remember from my childhood days. It will never be the same as her's was but it's still great. With just a few simple ingredients, I hope you give this one a try!
One of my biggest regrets is not asking my grandmother how she made her marinad before she passed. Hence, I spent lots of time experimenting with various ways of making this before I found what I felt was the closest and tastiest version of what I remember from my childhood days. It will never be the same as her's was but it's still great. With just a few simple ingredients, I hope you give this one a try!
Ingredients:
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1 cup Flour, sifted
1 tsp. Baking Powder 2 Garlic Cloves, minced 1 Scallion 1/2 Maggie Chicken Bouillon Cube, crushed 3/4 cup Water 1 tbsp. Epis (if substituting for garlic and scallions) 1/2 - 1 tbsp. Piman Bouk (optional) Additional Salt to taste (optional) |
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Directions:
1. Finely dice a scallion aka green onion.
(If you prefer to use Epis, skip steps 1 and 2 and go straight to 3. I personally prefer using scallions and garlic rather than epis.)
(If you prefer to use Epis, skip steps 1 and 2 and go straight to 3. I personally prefer using scallions and garlic rather than epis.)
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2. I decided to bring out the "pillon". If you're not familiar with this "everyday Haitian tool", it's basically a wooden pestle and mortar. It's used to grind up herbs and spices. In this case, we will be using it to grind the 2 cloves of garlic. If you don't have a "pillon", don't fret. Simply mince the garlic as fine as you can.
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3. Place the sifted flour (1 cup) into a mixing bowl along with the garlic paste, finely diced scallions, 1/2 Maggie cube crushed, and 1 tsp. baking powder. (Use 1 tbsp. of epis in place of the scallions and garlic if you so choose.) Mix all the dry ingredients together with a fork.
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4. (Optional) If you're like me and love some heat, add in about 1 tbsp. of Piman Bouk liquid to the mixture. Or, you can use fresh habenero peppers as well, about 1/4 a pepper, finely minced.
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5. Add about 1/2 cup of water and start to mix thoroughly.
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6. Then add the remaining 1/4 and continue to mix with the fork until it becomes a nice smooth yet sticky consistency. You can add a dash of sea salt to taste if you choose and be sure to mix thoroughly. Allow the mixture to rest for about 15 minutes.
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7. Fill a pan with enough oil to be able to submerge the fritters. Place on medium-high heat and allow it to reach temperature. Avoid using high heat as this will burn the fritters before allowing them to cook thoroughly. Once the oil has reached temperature, drop the dough mixture by spoonfuls and fry for about 5 minutes, turning them over about half way.
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8. Once fried to a crisp, golden perfection, remove them from the oil and place on a paper-towel lined plate to absorb any excess oil. Repeat the previous step to fry the remaining batches.
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The "Marinad" or Haitian Fritters is ready to be serve and best enjoyed when fresh and warm. This accompanies Pikliz very well and/or Haitian Sos. This can also be part of your "Fritay" assortment especially if you have Bannann Peze and Griot on the side.
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Posted March 22nd, 2019
Have you had "Marinad" before? What do you think of this recipe?
Let me know and comment below!
Let me know and comment below!