Through Bajan Eyes

I've noticed some similarities between foods that come from diverse cultures. At a Uzbekistani restaurant I ate some thing called 'plov'. Plov was basically what we in Barbados would call 'pelau' and other places would call 'pilaf'. You take rice, meat and vegetables and you cook them in the same pot.

I also had some soup in Siberia that was nearly like Bajan soup – there was mutton, potatoes, carrots and other vegetables. The only thing missing was the dumplings.

I find that all across the tropics, you find similar fruit and vegetables. Some are exactly the same as we would find in the Caribbean. For example in Thailand you get guavas and mangoes and tamarinds. Judging from the different cultural events I've attended here in the UK, you get things like plantain, yam, sweet potato and cassava, in many different places. Actually I've noticed a similarity in cuisine within many parts of the African Diaspora.

Some fruit and veg are similar, not quite the same and you know that there has got to be some relationship. For example there is a variety of tamarind in Thailand that is sweet. And another related fruit called 'look yee' (photo below) - it's like a tamarind but the shell is dark. Then there are fruits like rambutan (photo to left) and lychees, which are similar in form to what we Bajans call ackees. I ate so many rambutans that it became my nickname. There is also a fruit called Durian (renowned for it's smell), and another one called Jackfruit, which have just got to be family to the soursop and/or sugar apple.

When I was in China, I came across some fruit that looked a bit like dunks. So I signed to the shopkeeper (cause I don't speak Chinese) that I wanted to try one. The flesh was very much like the flesh on a dunk, but it wasn't as tart. And the seed was a different shape from a dunk seed. I just know that whatever it was called, it had to be family to dunks. I bought some and, just like dunks, two to three days later, they started to go a bit 'pappy'.

Here in England, I have friends from many different nationalities. And every now and again we like to have a dinner party where we each bring a dish from our native land. At the last one we had dishes from Barbados, China, Colombia, Croatia, Italy, England, Romania, Scotland, Uzbekistan, Wales and Zimbabwe. So even when I'm not travelling, I still get to enjoy my international cuisine.