East African Beef Pilaf
This beef pilaf is a fragrant East African rice dish made by cooking the rice with meat or vegetables, ginger, garlic, and spices. It is usually served with kachumbari, which is a mixture of tomatoes, onions, and lettuce.
250 g beef, cubed and rinsed
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tbsp salt
1 tomato, grated
1 onion, grated
Vegetable oil
1 tbsp cumin powder
2 pods cardamom, seeds removed
1Ā½ tsp whole powdered pepper
2 cinnamon sticks
Cloves
2 onions, finely chopped
1Ā½ tsp turmeric powder
1Ā½ tsp coriander powder
Ā½ tsp garlic paste
Chopped fresh coriander
Salt
400 g rice, washed and soaked for 10 minutes
Place beef in a pot with water, ginger-garlic paste, salt, grated tomato, and grated onion. Bring to a boil, and cook until the meat is tender.
Remove the meat and set aside. Save the resulting broth for cooking the rice.
Heat a layer of cooking oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the cumin, cardamom seeds, pepper, cinnamon, and cloves; then, cook until the spices splutter.
Add the chopped onion. Cook, stirring, until translucent. If you want a darker pilaf, fry the onions until they are caramelized.
Stir in the turmeric and coriander powder. Let fry for a few minutes.
Stir in the garlic paste and a bit of chopped fresh coriander.
Add the cooked meat, and stir together for 2 minutes.
2 minutes
Add the broth, and bring to a simmer. Adjust the seasoning with salt to tasteāmake sure to add enough salt because you still need to add the rice.
Stir in the rice and a little coriander. Cook on high heat for about 3 minutes.
3 minutes
Reduce the heat to medium, and cover the pot. Cook, stirring periodically, until the rice has absorbed the water.
Reduce the heat to low, and let the rice finish steaming for 5 minutes.
5 minutes
Remove from the heat and serve with kachumbari.