Pilau: first attempt

(serves 6)

Hmm.. so my first attempt at pilau - an Indian/African spiced rice that i tried when i was in Kenya. It was one of the most delicious dishes, aromatic with cinnamon, cardamon and other spices, and flavour infused in every grain (at least that's what i remember thinking)!

Alas, mine wasn't quite the same, definitely needs some more experimentation to get it right but not too bad for a first attempt. Definitely should get basmati rice (too lazy this time and just used jasmine) next time to get the texture and grainy-ness right and need to think about how to infuse the flavour into the rice... It was still fun to use the saffron from Zanzibar though! Yay for the spice markets!

Prep time: 10 min

Cooking time: 40 min

Ingredients:

30g butter

2 small brown onions

¼ capsicum, finely diced (or 1/2 tomato)

2 cloves garlic

2 C basmati rice

3 C stock (chicken or vegetable)

¼ tsp saffron

¼ C boiling water

2 cinnamon sticks

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 bay leaves

6 cardamon pods, bruised

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

1 lime

Salt, pepper

Method:

1. Soak the saffron in the boiling water for 10 minutes.

2. Heat a deep pan or a pot with the butter.

3. Add in the garlic, onion and capsicum (or tomato) and stir for 2-3 minutes. Add in the bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods.

4. Add the rice and stir through to coat. Add the stock and the saffron.

5. Bring to the boil and cook for 15-18 minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed.

6. Stir in the paprika, cumin and ground cinnamon and juice of 1 lime.

7. Let it sit off the heat for 10 minutes, to help dry out. Remove the cinnamon sticks, cardamon pods, bay leaves before serving.