A wedding in Mombasa without Pilau is a big jock. Pilau is a traditional meal among the coastal people of Kenya and Tanzania. It is a fragrant rice dish cooked using whole organic spices, beef, chicken or mutton, and is commonly served with Kachumbari – the Kenya version of Salad.
Make authentic Kenyan Beef Pilau at home with this traditional Recipe from Samosa.co.ke. By slowly caramelizing your onions and toasting your whole and ground combination of spices, you will achieve the deep brown color and rich aroma that defines this spiced rice.
Ingredients
- 2 cup long grain basmati rice
- 4 cups water
- 1 onion, sliced
- ½ chicken, sliced into bite-size pieces
- Vegetable oil
- 4 cloves, whole
- 2 cinnamon sticks, whole
- 5 cardamoms, whole (lightly smash for stronger smell and taste)
- 9 black peppercorns, whole
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon of each ginger and garlic, crushed
- 2 peeled potatoes (optional)
- Salt to taste
Instructions on Preparation
- In a cooking pot, add onions and vegetable oil and cook until the onions start to brown.
- Add all whole spices and fry for 1 minute.
- Add chicken and fry for 6 minutes.
- Add potatoes (optional) and water and bring it to boil.
- Add salt to taste
- Once the water boils, add rice and simmer until the rice is a little wet, not completely dry.
- Place the cooking pan in an oven, cover it and let it cook in a little water so it doesn’t become completely dry.
- Serve hot with salad, gravy, chili or Kachumabri.
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