ILIKI, MDALASINI AND THYME HOMEMADE PILAU .

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS. 200 grams of beef without bones/steak 3 ripe tomatoes, pureed 2 medium sized onions 1 tablespoon of tomato paste. 1 teaspoon of dhanajeera 1 teaspoon of rosemary 1 tablespoon of ginger 3 cloves of garlic 1 teaspoon of oregano 1 medium sized cup of rice, washed. 1 bunch of dhania/cilantro ½ cucumber, diced 3 tablespoons of pilau masala 1 tablespoon of pilau mix 1 tablespoon of garlic powder 2 -2 ½ cups of beef stock. 1 teaspoon of mixed herbs 1 teaspoon of mint Salt 1 teaspoon of thyme 1 teaspoon of cardamom/iliki 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. METHOD. 1: Place the meat in a pot and add water, rosemary, mint, cinnamon, mixed herbs, salt, some garlic & ginger and cover to boil till cooked. Not the water has to be excess so as to cater for the beef stock for later use .Don’t boil the meat till all the water has dried up but only until the meat is cooked through. 2: Meanwhile, let’s prep the other ingredients. Chop up the onions, ginger, garlic, garlic powder, dhanajeera and the cilantro stems and add them into a pot which you will use to make the pilau. Puree the tomatoes by roughly chopping them up and blending them till smooth. 3: By now the meat has already boiled so strain the remaining stock into a hot place so as to keep it hot. Add oil to your already chopped up onion mixture and place on the stove on medium-high heat and cook till the onion is burnt and smoky. This will enhance the color of the pilau. 4: Now add your tomato paste and puree, thyme, pilau mix, pilau masala, cardamom/iliki and salt. Cook this mix for about 30 seconds then reduce the heat to a medium-low and add your boiled meat and salt. Give it time to absorb the flavors like for about two to three minutes. 5: Next, add your rice and stir vigorously to incorporate all the flavors still on medium-low heat for about a minute or two then add 2 cups of your saved beef stock. Please note that the ratio of rice to water is 1:2 so since I used one cup of rice I’m going to use the same cup to measure two cups of water. In case your beef stock comes in short, worry not because you can to up the remainder with hot water. If you forgot to save some beef stock but have some chicken stock at hand, it still works okay. If you don’t have both, hot water will still do the job since the work of the purpose of the stock is to enhance flavor and cook the rice. 6: Immediately after adding your liquid, be It the hot water or the beef stock turn up the heat to medium-high until the level of water and rice are back to the same level the turn it back to medium-low. After it’s on the same level remove the pots lid and replace it with it with aluminum foil covering the whole pot circumference as this ensures perfect drying of the rice and makes it fluffy. 7: Cook for about 10 – 15 min while checking on the rice so as not to burn. Once ready, turn off the heat and give it approximately 3-5 minutes to rest. 8; Garnish with the cilantro leaves and chopped up cucumber and serve hot with some salsa!!!!! VIDEO UP ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL

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