8 Best Trinidad Street Foods to use as Appetizers

Trinidad and Tobago street food offers a wide variety of options, most of them derived from the many cultures that share this twin island state.  From African to Indian, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, and French they have all contributed to the unique street cuisine of the island.  Many of these traditional delights can be downsized to bite size appetizer portions that are sure to lively up any party.

1. Fried Plantain Skewers
A perennial favorite is sweet plantains.  This party appetizer is made with medium ripened plantains which are cut lengthwise, put on a skewer, battered and fried.  They can be dusted with icing sugar and served warm.

2. Mini Roti
This East Indian delicacy is a soft flat bread wrap, filled with an aromatic mixture of curried meats or shrimp with curried potato and chick peas.  The meat and fish can be omitted to create a vegetarian version.  The mini rotis are wrapped in parchment paper and served.

3. Mini Bake and Shark
A small round fried bread filled with fried shark or other fish, this traditional beach food makes a great transition into a bite-sized party food.  Add a spicy mayonnaise based sauce or mango filling and your party guests will be begging for more.


4.  Accra Balls with Mango Dip
This delight is made with boiled salted fish, which is then stripped up into small pieces and added to a flour and water mixture, seasoned, shaped into balls and fried.  A spicy mango or tamarind dip is the perfect compliment to this mouth watering morsel.

5. Curried Crab and Dumplings
This dish is a favorite in the sister isle of Tobago, where it is served from shacks near the beach.  Large curried crabs are served with dumplings and provision (steamed root vegetables).  The appetizer sized version is made with small dumplings which are stuffed with curried crabmeat.

6. Kibbies
This food, a favorite in Lebanon, Syria, turkey and North Africa, was brought to Trinidad by the Syrian Lebanese community.  It is a mixture of minced meat with bulgar and spices stuffed inside a bulgar pastry and baked or fried.  It can be served with a yogurt based dip or by itself.

7. Pholori Balls with Tamarind Dip
Ground split peas mixed into a flour batter and fried into light fluffy balls make a popular Trini street food.  Placed into a small paper bag, hot from the pan, and smeared with a mango or tamarind sauce it becomes a delight loved by most children.   As and appetizer pholori is speared with a toothpick and dipped in the sauce of choice.

8. Mini Pita Bread stuffed with Chicken or Tuna

Pita wraps stuffed with meat and vegetables, called gyros have become a popular street food in Trinidad and Tobago.  The mini version makes a great appetizer stuffed with a spicy chicken or tuna and feta cheese mixture. 

Call us at Beautiful Buffets 777-6888 to help you make that party special!