SETH: Chef.

PETER: Hey, good to see you.

Welcome.

SETH: Good to see you as well.

Oh, man.

Well, I am happy to be here.

And I am super happy about looking at these beautiful colors, some heat coming off this griddle.

What's all this going to make today?

PETER: So, we're going to put together our Curried Beef Paratha Tiffin Box.

This is part of our Indian heritage in Trinidad.

This is one of the prevalent styles of Roti in the country.

We do the paratha, what you're going to see here, and we also do our Dhalpuri style, which is stuffed with ground split peas, and it's healthy and flavorful.

This is stuffed with butter and deliciousness, so bathed in butter.

So it's flaky and delicious, but it's really functional as well.

That's how you eat the curries, you know.

This is the perfect utensil.

You get sauce, you get whatever combination of the curries that you want.

SETH: So I see this beef, and I see what looks like curried potatoes.

And what's this, Peter?

PETER: So, yes.

So we have curry chana, or garbanzos.

SETH: So, we got three different curries.

PETER: Yeah.

The thing about Trinidadian curries, they are mostly based on the madras style of curry.

And we bring out the different nuances and the different ingredients by how much curry we use, the intensity, and how we cook them.

SETH: It all looks and smells so good, but how is this actually going to come together as a dish?

PETER: So, what we do here at Cane is we put it together in our tiffin box.

Tiffins, I've seen those growing up as a kid, you see Indian laborers using it on the continent, just to get lunch.

It's really practical, it keeps food warm and, yeah, and we just thought it was a fun package to deliver our version of curry beef.

SETH: A nice, shiny lunchbox there for your meal.

I like that.

So are you going to cook up a paratha, here?

PETER: I am.

I am.

SETH: I'm going to watch you work your magic.

PETER: We just use, start off with a bunch of ghee.

SETH: Like you said, lots of butter.

PETER: Lots of butter.

For reasons I don't really understand as a chef, but it's just been passed on, you have to butter it before you can flip it.

I guess it seals in any steam, and it starts to separate a little bit.

SETH: This thing just glistens.

PETER: It does.

It's very hot.

SETH: It's reflective, all that butter.

Why not put a little more on, right?

PETER: So the ghee, the butter is cultured.

It's not just straight clarified butter.

SETH: Okay.

PETER: And, yeah.

There's a little tang and, I think, some healthy bacteria.

It helps you digest, but it's not too... SETH: Sure, we'll call... PETER: It's not as bad as... SETH: We'll call it healthy.

Yeah, yeah.

Whatever you have to tell yourself.

PETER: So, in Trinidad we call it "buss up shut" which is busted up shirts.

I'm pushing it together, so that you can get the edges cooked all the way through, then I'm going to chop it up some more.

SETH: Oh, man.

Let it rest.

PETER: Let it rest.

SETH: Well, it's tough that it needs to rest and cool down, because I wanted to sort of try it right now.

PETER: We gotcha, man.

We have some that I just cooked a little bit ahead.

SETH: Oh, man.

Buttery, flaky.

That's so good.

And if that's just the bread alone, I can't wait to see what it's going to taste like when we're sopping up all these curries and using that as our fork.

So, I will let you get to assembling the tiffin box, and I can't wait to try it with you and Jeanine, back at the table.

PETER: Awesome.

See you out there, man.

SETH: Thanks, Chef.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Jeanine, Peter, I've been trying a lot of great dishes all around the D.C. area, but none have come with this type of presentation.

I can't wait to see what's hiding inside those tiffin boxes.

PETER: No more waiting.

Let me, let me break this out.

JEANINE: And of course it would not be a lime without some rum, so this is Trinidadian rum of course.

SETH: Cheers.

JEANINE: Cheers.

PETER: Cheers.

SETH: Cheers.

PETER: All right, you got some beautiful paratha right there, and here, a curry potato, garbanzos, and then our curried beef.

SETH: And no knife and fork necessary?

PETER: No knife or fork necessary, man.

You know what I mean?

JEANINE: Just put these aside.

PETER: Have some bread, please.

Dig in, enjoy.

SETH: So, yeah.

So it's the beef dish, so I got to start with the beef here.

Mm.

PETER: That's my favorite.

SETH: Butter after butter after butter, mixed with that beef that's just falling apart.

PETER: And then I'll go for a little... SETH: Super well-seasoned.

PETER: A little composed bite, maybe.

SETH: Oh, a composed bite.

PETER: Now, you try all of them.

I love how the potato plays off of the beef, just a little bit of beef gravy.

That's one of my favorite bites which, you know, you mix it up and... You know, every curry's a little different.

Then you go with the flow and you make your experience every bite.

You know?

SETH: So if you find that one perfect bite, you just keep chasing it?

If you're seeking, you just keep trying until you get one?

PETER: You keep mixing it up.

It's all good.

There aren't any bad bites, is the upside.

SETH: Yeah, I'll try a little combo bite here, a little potato and beef.

Why not?

Mm.

PETER: Don't be shy.

Lick your fingers.

That's, that's how you clean them off.

There you go.

SETH: It's the mark of a non-Trini, if you're using napkins and forks and knives.

PETER: You're wasting curry, man.

SETH: Yeah.

And Jeanine, what's your favorite bite here?

JEANINE: Well, I really like the combo of the beef, the potatoes, and the chana, but I really like to make sure I include some of the condiments.

Trinidadians are really religious about their condiments.

SETH: Well, Jeanine, Peter, this tiffin box, this beef roti, so, so good.

Thanks for letting me lime with you guys for a little while, and I can't wait to come back.

JEANINE: Anytime, Seth.

SETH: Cheers.

PETER: Thank you.

JEANINE: Thank you.