Pilau recipe

Kenyan coastal rice whose brown colour comes from onions fried almost black, not from any spice.

2 hours and 10 minutesmedium11 ingredients

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp pilau masala
• 400 g basmati rice
• 600 g beef
• 3 onions
• 2 potatoes
• 3 clove garlic
• 1 tbsp ginger
• 1 tomato
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 700 ml water

How to make Pilau

1. Toast 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds, 6 cloves, 4 green cardamom pods, 1 cinnamon stick and 1 teaspoon of black peppercorns in a dry pan for 2 minutes, then grind them to a powder. That is pilau masala, and no shop-bought curry powder replaces it.
2. Rinse 400 g of basmati rice until the water runs clear, soak it 20 minutes and drain.
3. Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a heavy pot and fry 3 thinly sliced onions for 15 to 20 minutes over medium heat until they are deep brown, almost burnt. This browning, not any spice, is what colours pilau.
4. Add 3 minced garlic cloves and 1 tablespoon of grated ginger, then 600 g of cubed beef, and brown it 10 minutes until the juices it releases have dried off.
5. Stir in 1 chopped tomato and the ground pilau masala, cook 3 minutes, then add 2 cubed potatoes and 2 teaspoons of salt.
6. Pour in 700 ml of water, cover and simmer 45 minutes until the beef is tender.
7. Add the drained rice, level the surface and check the liquid sits about 1 cm above it. Boil uncovered until it is absorbed, 8 to 10 minutes.
8. Cover tightly, drop the heat to the lowest setting and steam 20 minutes, then rest 5 minutes off the heat.
9. Fold gently with a fork, bringing the beef and potato up through the rice, and serve with kachumbari.

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