Swahili Pilau (The sort of cheat’s way)
It’s amazing the kinds of ways you can make a single dish. The whole point of cooking is never uniformity, but uniqueness and the occasional cheat sheet that makes life easier for seasoned and learning cooks alike.
I’m absolutely in love with Swahili food, the richness and distinct taste of everything makes things like biryan , pilau, kaimati and mahamri my ultimate favourites.
This post however is about Pilau, and if you’ve been to a wedding lately, I’m sure you’ve had a taste, at Christmas , birthdays, it has always been a crowd pleaser. So here’s a way to keep it simple but superb.
Lesson number one, with all great dishes that need a spice blend, there will be one on the shelf of your local supermarket, and you will be more than spoilt for choice.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s always good to have an idea of how things piece together for that distinct taste, but cooking should never do your head in . And I find, that even as a chef with an idea of how to DIY a spice blend at home, it’s nice to know that I can pick something out that costs less and is stress free for me. SO for this recipe, I bought a spice mix and it did GREAT.
Anyways. enough of talking, here’s to cooking.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups of rice
- 4 cups of water
- cooking oil
- 8 large red onions — thinly sliced
- 8 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- Pilau masala( ground)
- 1 full chicken, cut
- salt- to taste
To accompany my pilau, I made a chilli chutney that kept rather well. You can make it here.
Be mindful of the size of your pot. Too small and your rice will swell to unmanageable quantities. Big is the safer way to go.
DIRECTION
1.Heat up your oil in a sauce pan and once hot enough, add your onions and when they are translucent, add your garlic followed by about 6 large tablespoons of the pilau masala, Cook them until they are extremely browned, not burned, but you know, at the border🙂 so take down the heat, take a seat and watch them until they are.
2. Add your chicken, stir well until combined
3. When your chicken starts to cook ; you’ll know because it will go from pink to a pale white,and the closest to the bottom of the pot will turn a light brown, add your rice, mix well and continue to simmer for about 5–7 minutes.
4. Add your water, followed by salt. Don’t put in all the salt at once, little by little, stirring and tasting to see if you are satisfied, be careful for overkill though, the water will evaporate and if you over do it, your pilau will be so salty.
5. Cover and put on the lowest heat possible. Slowly your house will fill the most aromatic scent ever, and you’ll be as hungry as ever and so will your neighbors.
6. Your rice will start to swell and the level of water will go down, keep checking on your pilau, make sure it doesn’t start to burn. Once the top is dry , take it off the heat and cover with aluminium foil, shiny side facing the pilau and the dull side facing upwards. This will keep it as hot as possible.
7. Keep covered for around half an hour just to allow the flavors to settle and then serve.
Things to remember,
You can do this with lamb, beef or mutton. Just pick soft cuts because you don’t want your meat to be tough after cooking.
Be mindful of the onions.They are the reason for the color of pilau so be super keen.
Try not to over do it, everything tastes better the day after.
Always yours,
Riziki
