Boiled Peewah

Desserts
Boiled Peewah

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It has been years since I have eaten some boiled peewah. I particularly enjoyed it the most for the seed inside. On my visit to my home town in Trinidad in June 2011, I saw some Peewah available for sale by some street vendors but I was unable to stop and buy some.

Peewah is of the palm (palmaceae) family. Two of its cousins are the gru gru and gri gri. The trunks of the trees are coated with plenty of thin long thorns making it difficult for human beings to climb.

Peewah is a seasonal fruit and it is mostly grown in the southern parts of Trinidad. The Peewah emerge from a bunch after the beautiful flowers have fallen. Peewah is small as a marble - the marble that is commonly used by children for playing games.

When ripe, the outter skin of the Peewah is red but before that it is light green in color. The inside of the Peewah (a floury pulp) cannot eaten raw, it must be cooked.

Ingredients
1/2 - 1 bunch of Peewah
salt
water

Method

Peewah can be purchased from the local market or the occassional road side vendor in Trinidad. Thoroughly wash the Peewah and place them in a deep pot. Fill the pot with water, enough to cover all the Peewah.

Add the salt. Cover the pot and allow the Peewah to boil for 25-30 minutes. When the Peewah is cooked, it should be nice and tender when slight pressure is applied to it. Removed the boiled peewah from the pot of water and place them in a container to cool.

Now it is time to eat! Boiled Peewah is fun and delicious to eat. The skin can be peeled and eaten. After the red portion (under the skin) is eaten, a black seed is exposed. This seed is not so hard and can be cracked by the human teeth to get a tasty little nut inside. Personally this little nut it a treasure and tastes like a matured coconut.