A fusion of Caribbean flavors will remind you of vacation

When you enter Ali's Roti Restaurant here in Boston, the blaring Carnival Soca music and panoply of aromas make you feel as though you've been transported to the West Indies.

With West Indian populations burgeoning in the United States, many Caribbean neighborhoods, such as the one along Blue Hill Avenue in Boston's Mattapan neighborhood, can deliver a genuine taste of the islands.

No starred chefs operate the mom and pop eateries here that prominently display their national pride with flags, but the simple dishes offer a taste of home to recent immigrants and a chance to revisit island memories for New Englanders who have vacationed there.

"We have people coming from all over to eat at restaurants along this Blue Hill strip in Dorchester – people from New Hampshire; Springfield, [Mass.]; Rhode Island; Connecticut," says Charles Wynter, a Jamaican immigrant who works at Ali's. "When people travel or spend time in the Caribbean, then they want to eat what they tasted on vacation in the islands when they return home," he concludes.

The Caribbean embraces a wide expanse of islands between Florida and South America. Explorers, conquistadors, and pirates have all sailed the trade winds that sweep the West Indies, shaping its demography in the process. Caribbean cuisine is a fusion of Spanish, French, African, and Indian influences mixed with local produce and bountiful seafood. Goat is another staple that features prominently in many Caribbean dishes.

Even among the islands, cuisine varies widely, depending on the colonial history. For instance, the Chinese introduced rice to the Caribbean and people from India brought curry when both groups first came to work as indentured servants in various sugar-cane plantations.

Rice on each island also may be a little different. Some season their rice, others add peas or other touches – including, coconut.

Trinidadian food is dominated by yellow curry and roti (a flaky bread cooked on the stove similar to a tortilla or the Indian bread called naan), whereas Jamaican food tends features more "jerk" seasoning, milder sauces, and flour dumplings.

"Heat" is common to the all West Indian cuisines, whether it's from spices like turmeric or cumin or from hot sauces made from peppers. Freshly made "green seasoning" is a common meat marinade made from green onion, hot peppers, ginger, cilantro, and garlic. Menus also include a lot of seafood – so it's hardly surprising that Caribbean restaurants have found a particular niche along North America's East Coast.

The majority of West Indian immigrants in Boston tend to come from the larger islands of Jamaica and Trinidad – and so those palates dominate the dishes offered by restaurants in the United States and Canada. The shift to a northern clime – with all its hurry and cold weather – makes Caribbean restaurants even more appealing to those populations used to a slower pace and a warmer region.

"There is a lot of work that goes into making Caribbean dishes," says Hanif Abrahim, manager and head cook of Ali's Roti Restaurant, which opened in 1989. "When people move here, they don't have time to spend all day cooking their favorite meals."

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