At first glance, Calalu seems like Gumbo: an African-style recipe with an African name, but found only in the Americas. The main difference is that Calalu always includes greens, while Gumbo always includes okra (except for those Gumbos thickened with filé powder). There are some gastronomic references to Calalu in Western Africa, particularly Benin (Dahomey), though these are outnumbered by recipes for Calalu from the Caribbean.

Calalu Recipe

Calalu always includes greens.

Prep Time20 minsCook Time2 hrs 10 minsTotal Time2 hrs 30 minsYields4 Servings

Ingredients

 red palm oil or any cooking oil, for frying
 2 lbs meat, cut into bite-sized pieces (any combination of meat, chicken, or fish may be used)
 2 lbs (or more) greens: cassava leaves (feuilles de Manioc), taro leaves, swiss chard, sorrel leaves, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, collard greens, spinach, chinese spinach, or similar, or a combination of any of these; stems removed and cleaned; note: taro greens must also be parboiled and rinsed before further cooking
 3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
 1 cup dried shrimp or prawns
 12 okra, chopped (optional
 1 onion, chopped (optional)
 1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
 1 chile pepper, cleaned and chopped (optional)
 black pepper, cayenne pepper or red pepper, salt (to taste)

Instructions

1

Heat the oil in a large pot. Fry the meat and onions until the meat is browned.

2

Add all remaining ingredients and enough water to partially cover them. Cover, reduce heat and simmer on a very low heat for an hour or more, until everything is tender.

Ingredients

 red palm oil or any cooking oil, for frying
 2 lbs meat, cut into bite-sized pieces (any combination of meat, chicken, or fish may be used)
 2 lbs (or more) greens: cassava leaves (feuilles de Manioc), taro leaves, swiss chard, sorrel leaves, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, collard greens, spinach, chinese spinach, or similar, or a combination of any of these; stems removed and cleaned; note: taro greens must also be parboiled and rinsed before further cooking
 3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
 1 cup dried shrimp or prawns
 12 okra, chopped (optional
 1 onion, chopped (optional)
 1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
 1 chile pepper, cleaned and chopped (optional)
 black pepper, cayenne pepper or red pepper, salt (to taste)

Directions

1

Heat the oil in a large pot. Fry the meat and onions until the meat is browned.

2

Add all remaining ingredients and enough water to partially cover them. Cover, reduce heat and simmer on a very low heat for an hour or more, until everything is tender.

Calalu
IngredientsDirections

Serve with Rice.

In the “Africa” section of the seminal Recipes of All Nations, Countess Morphy writes “Another national dish of Dahomey is the Calalou”. See Rare Recipes: Countess Marcelle Morphy. Also see, Feuilles de Manioc.

Calalu means greens

Dictionaries say the word Calalu means greens (particularly various species of xanthosoma or colocasia; commonly known as taro, cocoyam, eddo, or dasheen, see Greens in Africa). The word also refers to soups and stews made from these greens, (Haitians further complicate things by using the word “calalu” to mean okra); the word comes from the Arawakan languages of the Caribbean and entered European languages via American Spanish. But the taro or cocoyam plant and the custom of eating its leaves cooked as greens apparently arrived in the Caribbean with enslaved Africans, probably from Western Africa. That the plant came from Western Africa to Caribbean, while the name went from the Caribbean to Western Africa is evidence of the connections, gastronomic and other, that exist between these two regions.

In the Caribbean, Calalu (also spelled Callaloo, Calalou, Callilu, and Callalou) is made from almost any combination of crabmeat, fish, dried fish, lamb, shrimp, smoked meat, bacon or salt pork, salt cod or stockfish, garlic, okra, onions, tomatoes, spices, and, always, greens. In Brazil a similar dish called Carurú is made from okra and shrimp. The word Calalu is also used figuratively to mean a melange, anything made by combining a variety of ingredients.