Plate 02 of 10

Buss Up Shut with Curried Goat

Name: Buss Up Shut with Curried Goat
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 165 min
Yield: 6 portions
Cuisine: Trinidad and Tobago
Ingredients: 1.5 kg Bone-in goat shoulder or leg, chopped into 4 cm chunks, rinsed in lime water and dried; 60 ml Trinidad green seasoning — chadon beni, scallion, garlic, thyme and pimento peppers puréed; 45 g Trinidadian Madras curry powder; 15 g Cumin (geera), freshly toasted dark and ground; 6 cloves Fresh garlic, crushed to a paste; 1 large Yellow onion, finely diced; 1 whole Scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and minced; 15 g Fine sea salt; 3 g Freshly ground black pepper; 45 ml High-smoke vegetable oil; 750 ml Hot filtered water, or light stock; 400 g Yukon Gold or russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3 cm chunks; 600 g All-purpose wheat flour, 11% protein, sifted; 15 g Double-acting baking powder; 5 g Fine sea salt; 10 g Granulated cane sugar; 380 ml Lukewarm water; 150 g Ghee, or vegetable shortening, melted warm

Named because the shredded layers look like a torn-up shirt. Ghee spread across rolled dough and rolled into a cone traps dozens of alternating fat-and-flour sheets — and the roti must be clapped within five seconds of leaving the tawa, while the steam is still trapped between them.

Prep: 45 min
Cook: 2 hr
Serves: 6 portions
Difficulty: Hard

Researched · Kitchen testing pending

A white plate holding a mound of shredded pale flaky roti beside chunks of dark curried goat and potato in a thick brown gravy.

Across Trinidad, paratha roti is called buss up shut, because its shredded buttery layers look like a torn, battered shirt.

The technique is dramatic. Enriched dough is rolled thin, brushed with warm ghee, cut, rolled into cones and rested. Cooked on a smoking-hot tawa the roti puffs with steam, and the moment it leaves the iron the cook beats it violently between two wooden dablas, shattering the lamination into a pile of warm flaky rags.

Beside it sits slow-braised curried goat, simmered on the bone with toasted cumin, garlic and hot peppers until it is spoon-tender.

Ingredients

The goat
1.5 kgBone-in goat shoulder or leg, chopped into 4 cm chunks, rinsed in lime water and dried
60 mlTrinidad green seasoning — chadon beni, scallion, garlic, thyme and pimento peppers puréed
45 gTrinidadian Madras curry powder2 Tbsp into the marinade, 1 Tbsp bloomed in the oil
15 gCumin (geera), freshly toasted dark and ground
6 clovesFresh garlic, crushed to a paste
1 largeYellow onion, finely diced
1 wholeScotch bonnet pepper, seeded and minced
15 gFine sea salt
3 gFreshly ground black pepper
45 mlHigh-smoke vegetable oil
750 mlHot filtered water, or light stock
400 gYukon Gold or russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3 cm chunks
The paratha
600 gAll-purpose wheat flour, 11% protein, sifted
15 gDouble-acting baking powder
5 gFine sea salt
10 gGranulated cane sugar
380 mlLukewarm water
150 gGhee, or vegetable shortening, melted warm

The cone is the lamination

Ghee spread across a rolled circle, one cut from centre to edge, and the whole thing rolled into a cone traps dozens of alternating layers of dough and fat. Everything after that depends on this step.

Clap within five seconds

Off the tawa, the steam is still trapped between the hot leaves. Beating the bread immediately fractures the brittle exterior into feather-light rags. Wait, and the steam escapes and it just bends.

220 °C, under ninety seconds

High heat vaporises the water instantly and forces the ghee-separated sheets apart. On a cool griddle the roti dries out before it can puff at all.

Rest, twice

Twenty minutes after kneading, thirty after coning. Under-rested gluten snaps back and cooks tough.

Ghee, not butter

Its water and milk solids are already removed, so it takes tawa heat without burning while still giving the nutty flavour.

Bloom the curry first

Ninety seconds of stirring until it foams and turns nutty brown, before the onion or the meat go anywhere near it.

Passive time, counted separately

The goat marinates at least 4 hours, and the dough rests a total of about an hour. Neither is active work.

The five tastes on this plate

Salt penetrates the bone-in goat and seasons the dough. Fat is golden ghee through the layers and marrow fat in the gravy. Acid is the lime wash on the meat, cutting the game. Heat is Scotch bonnet, garlic, green seasoning and dark geera. Umami is seared goat fond, marrow bones and bloomed curry.

Equipment

6 qt heavy Dutch oven
12 to 14 in cast-iron tawa or flat griddle
Rolling pin and an oiled board
Two wooden dablas, or a clean kitchen towel
Insulated container

Traditionally a 14-to-16 inch iron tawa and wooden dablas. A cast-iron griddle works in a modern kitchen, and if you have no dablas, wrap the hot roti in a clean towel and clap it hard between your palms.

Method

Marinate the goat10 min
Toss the goat with the green seasoning, 2 Tbsp curry powder, half the geera, the garlic, black pepper and 1 Tbsp salt.
Chill at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Coat goat with green seasoning, 2 Tbsp curry powder, half the geera, garlic, black pepper and 1 Tbsp salt. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
Braise the curried goat2 hr
Heat the oil over medium, add the remaining 1 Tbsp curry powder and 1 tsp geera, and stir 90 seconds until it foams and turns nutty brown. Add the onion for 3 minutes.
Raise the heat, sear the marinated goat 8 minutes, pour in 750 ml hot water, and simmer covered on low 1 hour 15 minutes. Add the potato and simmer 30 minutes more, to 93–96 °C.
Heat oil over medium; stir remaining 1 Tbsp curry and 1 tsp geera 90 seconds until foamy and nutty-brown. Cook onion 3 minutes. Raise heat and sear marinated goat 8 minutes; add 750 ml hot water. Cover and simmer low 1¼ hours; add potatoes and simmer 30 minutes more to 93–96 °C.
Knead the dough10 min
Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar, add the lukewarm water gradually, and knead 4 minutes into a soft slightly sticky dough.
Divide into 6 balls of about 165 g, cover with a damp towel, and rest 20 minutes.
Mix flour, baking powder, salt and sugar; gradually add lukewarm water. Knead 4 minutes into soft, slightly sticky dough. Divide into 6 roughly 165 g balls, cover with a damp towel and rest 20 minutes.
Laminate into cones20 min
Roll a ball into a thin 25 cm circle and brush 2 Tbsp warm ghee right across it.
Cut once from the centre to the edge, roll the dough tightly around itself into a cone, tuck the base in and press the tip down into the centre to make a laminated disc. Brush with ghee, cover, and rest 30 minutes.
Roll each ball into a thin 25 cm circle and brush with 2 Tbsp warm ghee. Cut once from centre to edge; roll tightly into a cone. Tuck base inward and press tip into centre, forming a layered disc. Brush with ghee, cover and rest 30 minutes.
Roll and cook10 min
Heat the tawa to 220 °C. Roll a rested disc gently into a 30 cm circle, 2 mm thick.
Lay it on the tawa for 45 seconds until pale bubbles appear, brush with ghee, flip, brush again, and cook 40 seconds more until small toasted spots form.
Heat tawa to 220 °C. Gently roll each rested disc to 30 cm across and 2 mm thick. Cook 45 seconds until bubbles appear; brush with ghee, flip, brush again and cook 40 seconds until lightly spotted.
Buss it up5 min
Slide the roti straight off the tawa into a clean towel and within five seconds clap and beat it vigorously four or five times.
The layers shatter into shredded rags. Stack in an insulated container and repeat.
Transfer roti straight into a clean towel. Within 5 seconds, clap and beat four or five times to separate into flaky shreds. Keep in an insulated container and repeat with remaining dough.
Serve
Warm shredded roti on large plates, with bowls of curried goat, stewed channa and mango kuchela alongside.
Serve warm shredded roti on large plates with bowls of curried goat, stewed channa and mango kuchela alongside.
08
Sensory cues of doneness
- Visual: a mound of pale golden flaky rags flecked with toasted amber, beside dark mustard-brown goat and tender potato.
- Auditory: the sharp rhythmic slap of the dablas fracturing the hot roti, and a quiet simmer from the curry pot.
- Olfactory: browned ghee, toasted wheat, roasted cumin, bloomed curry and garlic-braised goat.
Look for pale-golden flaky shreds with amber spots, tender potatoes and dark mustard-brown goat. Expect the slap of freshly beaten roti and aromas of ghee, toasted wheat, cumin and curry.

Storing it

Wrap shredded roti in parchment and then heavy foil and keep it in an insulated cooler — it stays warm and soft for up to 2 hours.

Troubleshooting

Tough, rubbery roti.: The dough was under-rested. Both rests matter — 20 minutes and 30.
It bends instead of shredding.: You waited too long to clap. Within five seconds of leaving the tawa.
A dry, unlayered flatbread.: The griddle was too cool. Hold 220 °C so the whole thing cooks in under 90 seconds.

Substitutions

One-to-one global substitutions, with the technique adjustment each one requires.

Ingredient substitutions

Ingredient	Replace with	Culinary impact and technique adjustment
Bone-in goat	Bone-in lamb shoulder, or beef chuck	One-to-one. Lamb gives an identical richness
Ghee	Vegetable shortening with 2 Tbsp melted butter	One-to-one for the lamination
Chadon beni	Cilantro with stems and a crushed garlic clove	One-to-one in the green seasoning

Scaling

Half, for 3 portions

Halve everything. The goat still braises 1 hour 45 minutes.

Double, for 12 portions

Double everything, cooking the rotis on two tawas or holding them warm in an insulated cooler.

What to serve it with

Curried channa and aloo
Mango kuchela
A cold Carib, or Angostura 1919 on the rocks

Questions

Why ghee rather than butter?

Its water and milk solids are removed, so it withstands tawa heat without burning while still bringing a rich nutty flavour.

Can I use lamb or chicken?

Yes. Bone-in lamb shoulder substitutes one-to-one; chicken thighs need only 35 minutes of simmering.

How do I keep it warm for a party?

Wrap the shredded roti in parchment, then foil, and put it in an insulated cooler — up to 2 hours warm and soft.