Pilaou

Ingredients

The rice

• 600 gbasmati rice
• rinsed and soaked 30 minutes

The meat

• 800 gbeef or goat
• in pieces on the bone
• or chicken
• salt

The base

• 3onions, thinly sliced
• 5 tablespoonsoil
• or ghee
• 4tomatoes, chopped
• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 4cm ginger, grated
• 2hot chillies, optional

The spices

• 1 stickcinnamon
• 6cardamom pods
• 6cloves
• 2 teaspoonscumin seed
• 1 teaspoonblack peppercorns
• 2bay leaves
• 1 teaspoonground turmeric
• salt

Directions

1. Cook them slowly to a deep brown. They should be almost caramelised. Stir them and watch them closely. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. It takes several changes of water. Swirl it with your hand as you rinse. Pour off all the cloudy water. Repeat until it runs almost clear.
2. Cover it with water and leave it. Give it about thirty full minutes. Drain it thoroughly before using. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot. Season the meat well and brown it. Work in batches rather than crowding.
3. Brown it well on all of its sides. Lift it all out and set it aside. Add the sliced onions to the pot. Cook them slowly and steadily. Give them a good fifteen minutes. Stir them regularly throughout. Do not rush that whole step at all. Add all the whole spices to the pot.
4. Cook them for two full minutes. The pot should smell strongly aromatic. Add the garlic and grated ginger. Add the turmeric and chillies. Cook them for one full minute. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pot. Cook them down for about eight minutes. The tomato should break down completely. Add the browned meat back to the pot. Add water to just barely cover it. Season the whole pot with salt.
5. Cover it and then let it simmer. Give it about forty-five minutes. Simmer it on if it still resists. You need the right ratio to the rice. Add water or reduce it to reach that. About one and a half parts to the rice. Add the drained rice to the pot. Stir it through once very gently. Bring it all back up to a boil.
6. Cover it with a tightly fitting lid. The lid must fit down tightly. Steam escaping means dry rice. Put a cloth under the lid if it is loose. Cooking it takes about twenty minutes. Let it cook for about twenty minutes. Do not lift the lid at all during it. Take it off the heat after twenty minutes. Leave it covered for ten more minutes. The grains firm up and separate.
7. Use a fork rather than a spoon. Lift it from the bottom upward. Judging it takes a careful look. Adjust it next time from that. Serving it is always done hot. Spoon it out onto a serving dish. Serve a tomato and onion salad alongside. It keeps two days refrigerated. Steam it rather than stirring it hot.

Technique

• The rice cooks in the spiced meat broth rather than being boiled separately and mixed, absorbing the flavour as it does — that is the defining technique of a pilaf. It also means the meat must be tender before the rice goes in, since the rice needs only twenty minutes.
• The liquid ratio is the whole difficulty: about one and a half parts liquid to rice by volume, with soaked rice taking a little less. Measure the broth in the pot and add water or reduce it to reach that rather than guessing — too much gives mushy rice and too little leaves it hard.
• Fry the onions slowly for a good fifteen minutes to a deep golden brown, which gives the colour and the sweetness that balances the spices. But there is a line between brown and burnt, and burnt onions turn the whole dish bitter — stir regularly and lower the heat as they darken.

Substitutions

• Chicken stands in for beef or goat and needs far less simmering before the rice goes in.
• Rinse the rice until the water runs almost clear and soak it thirty minutes, which washes off the starch that makes grains stick and lets them cook evenly without breaking.

Variations

• The Indian Ocean monsoon trade carried Persian, Arab and Indian traders along the Swahili coast for centuries, and rice, spices and techniques travelled with them; pilau exists all along that coast, each place with its own version.
• Do not lift the lid during the twenty minutes of cooking, and then leave it covered off the heat for ten more — the rice finishes in the residual steam and the grains firm up and separate. Opening it early gives wet rice.
• Fluff it with a fork rather than a spoon, lifting from the bottom upward, since a fork separates the grains without crushing them.

History

Spiced rice with meat, descended from the Persian and Omani pilaf that reached the islands through Indian Ocean trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pilaou?

Pilaou is a main from Comoros: swahili-style spiced rice cooked with meat and tomatoes. Spiced rice with meat, descended from the Persian and Omani pilaf that reached the islands through Indian Ocean trade.

How long does Pilaou take to make?

Pilaou takes 30 minutes of preparation and 1 hour 15 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Pilaou?

Yes, within limits. Chicken stands in for beef or goat and needs far less simmering before the rice goes in. Rinse the rice until the water runs almost clear and soak it thirty minutes, which washes off the starch that makes grains stick and lets them cook evenly without breaking.

What is the most important thing to get right in Pilaou?

Cover it with water and leave it. Give it about thirty full minutes. Drain it thoroughly before using. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot. Season the meat well and brown it. Work in batches rather than crowding.