Rice Pilau of East Africa

Direction East Africa with this delicious Pilau rice dish . Pilau rice is a very popular traditional rice dish in Tanzani and Kenya. 

What is Pilau rice? 

Pilau rice is a very fragrant dish. It is prepared with many aromatic spices which add a deep and amazing flavor to rice. This flat is made up of caramelized beef, rice (it's clear!) And potatoes cooked in a rich and delicious meat broth.

 It is a party dish, which never lacks on occasions or special events. Unlike the Indian Pilau, (yes there is also an Indian version) the East African version does not use curry and it is less spicy.

With what to serve the pilau rice 

Pilau rice can be served as an independent meal, but, if you want a complete Kenyan experience, just accompany your Pilau with a very popular salad in East Africa: Kachumbari Salad . It is a fresh and refreshing salad made of tomatoes, red onions, coriander and sometimes with chili

What makes the pilau brown?

The color of Pilau rice comes from the caramelization of onions and the browning of the meat . The seasoning of the pilau, well the spices used also add a little color to the rice as well as a unique flavor 😋

What is the taste of pilau rice?

The Pilau has a really special taste. I don't even know how to describe it lol. He has so much different flavor , and I love it a lot. Rice is made with spices that I am not used to using. But in addition you have to caramelize the meat and the onions before starting the cooking of the rice. Which gives a really delicious and tasty taste to the dish

How to cook Pilau rice from East Africa.

The recipe is super easy , I summarize it in 5 large simple steps:

1. Prepare these spices : you can make the mixture either or buy like me I did in the grocery stores. The spice mixture is called Garam Masala. The spices are composed: of cardamone, cumin, coriander, black pepper, cinnamon and clove.
2. Fry the onions : then this is the most important step. Onions must be well caramelized
3. Grill the meat : after the onions, the meat must be fled
4. Cook the rice : you can use aluminum foil to cover the cover. This will help keep steam inside.

But as usual the complete recipe is at the bottom of the article!

Notes 

• I used beef in this recipe, but chicken or any other type of meat can also be used.
• I used basmati rice which takes about 20 minutes to cook; However, your cooking time may vary depending on the type of rice you use.
• For uniform cooking, I close my pan with aluminum foil during the cooking process in order to have well -separated rice grains after cooking. All the tips for a successful rice are in this post !
• Prepare your Pilau rice on low heat. 
• Here I used already ground spices. But you can make spices yourself, it will certainly give more flavor!

And as I have already said, Pilau rice is served with a very refreshing Kenyan salad. Kachumbari salad 😋

Rice Pilau of East Africa

Pilau rice is a very fragrant dish. It is prepared with many aromatic spices which add a deep and amazing flavor to rice. This flat is made up of caramelized beef, rice (it's clear!) And potatoes cooked in a rich and delicious meat broth.

Serving 6 people

Preparation time 15 minutes min

Cooking time 35 minutes min

15 minutes min

Total time 35 minutes min

Print the recipe recipe

Ingredients

  

• 500 Basmati rice grams
• 5 medium potatoes - peeled and cut into optional
• ¼ vegetable oil cup
• 2 Medium red onions - finely trenched
• 4 Slinked garlic cloves
• 2 sliced ​​ginger tables
• 1 pepper
• 1 Pilau Masala tablespoon
• a few branches of coarsely chopped fresh coriander
• 500 grams of beef without bone cut into cubes
• 3 Roma diced tomatoes
• about 1 l of water
• 2 bay leaves

Instructions

 

• Boil the meat in a little water with salt. pepper and garlic. The water should just cover the pieces of meat. When it is cooked, drain and reserve the cooking juices
  
• Heat a pot over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat until it is hot but not smoking.
• Add the minced onions and fry for 10-15 minutes or until the onions start to take a golden color (be careful not to burn them).
  
• Add the garlic, ginger, pepper and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until they are flavored.
• Add the cooked beef, the pilau masala, bay leaves, coriander and salt to taste. Fry until the meat brown and caramelise, stirring from time to time, about 8 to 10 minutes.
  
• Add the diced tomatoes and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the tomatoes released their liquid.
  
• If you use the apples incorporate the potatoes and meat juice. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Otherwise jump this step
  
• Stir in the rice and about 1 liter of water.
  
• Hermetically cover with aluminum foil (to keep steam). Reduce the heat to low intensity and cook for 20 minutes, until the rice is cooked and the liquid is absorbed.
  
• 
• Once the rice is dry, remove the aluminum foil and aer it with a fork to make sure that the seasonings are well distributed all around the rice.
  
• Serve hot with the Kachumbari salad. Enjoy your food