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Wednesday, April 28, 2021

"How to Make Pilau" by Neema M

 

During some year in the 90s, that I cannot for the life of me remember, my father, Acquillahs Muteti, came to America from Kenya in hopes of establishing my family’s future. A few years later, in the year 2000, my mother and two older brothers immigrated here as well. Four years later, I was born. Although I was born in the United States, I’ve rarely felt disconnected from my heritage. This is for many reasons. On one hand, I have spent basically my entire life going to a church solely dominated by other Kenyan immigrants. Seventeen years surrounded by my extended family, bonded not through blood but through that shared experience of being far from home. On the other hand, my mom’s home-cooked Kenyan cuisine has always helped me to feel tethered to that part of who I am.

 

She told me once how when she first moved she experimented with all kinds of ingredients she found in the grocery store to recreate what she came to know as familiar back home. Eventually she had an “American-grocery-store-friendly” recipe down for every old favorite. One of my personal favorites is a Pilau, a seasoned rice dish. Pilau, in particular, is a staple in any Kenyan household. And honestly, for good reason. It’s really good. Whenever a friend of mine wants to try Kenyan food, the first thing I think to make them is Pilau. Mostly because my family makes it so much that at this point it is quick and easy, but also because I have never met a person who didn’t love it, which may sound like an exaggeration but I swear it is not. There’s no better word for it than classic. You can tell a lot about a person from how they season they’re pilau while cooking. The staple seasoning in Pilau is Pilau Masala. It's a fine brown powder packed full of different spices and it’s hard to find in store in America. My mom gets hers from Amazon. Let me know and I’ll hook you up.

Within my own family, every person’s pilau tastes different. My brothers still haven’t completely mastered the art of seasoning pilau, but they’ll never know because my mom continues to hype them up for their efforts. Ultimately, she’s the expert but I’d like to think my rendition is a close second. Give this recipe a shot. Try something new.


Prep time: 15 minutes

 

Cook time: 45 minutes

 

Ingredients

 

      1 small onion or ½ of a large onion

 

      3 cups of Royal Basmati Rice

 

      ½ lb of beef

 

      1 heaping tablespoon of Pilau Masala (my mom gets hers from Amazon)

 

      2 tablespoons of granulated garlic or garlic powder

 

      3 tablespoons of pureed tomato or tomato paste

 

      Salt to taste

 

      Garlic salt

 

      3 tablespoons of Canola oil

 

      5 cups of Boiling Hot Water

 

Tools

 

      Medium sized pot

 

      Wooden mixing spoon

 

      Measuring cups and spoons

 

      Electric Kettle (or a second pot)

 

      Knife

 

Step 1. Add water to your tea kettle and turn it on to boil so it’s ready for later. Step 2. Cut your onions into small pieces and put into a medium size pot

 

(in swahili, a “sufuria”). Cut the beef into small cubes and place that on the side for later.

 

Step 3. Add canola oil to the pot as well and turn on the stove to medium heat. It should be just enough oil to cover the onions

Step 4. Periodically stir the mixture with your wooden spoon to prevent it from burning. Cook until it starts to brown

Step 5. Once the onion starts to brown, add beef, Pilau Masala, garlic powder, and tomato puree.

 

Stir the mixture and allow the meat to cook for a few minutes.

 

Step 6: Add 5 cups of boiling water to the pot and stir the mixture. Also add both regular and garlic salt to the water. Feel free to taste the mixture and continue to add those two salts until it tastes really good. Don’t be shy.

Step 7: Make sure the water is at a rolling boil and then add your 3 cups of rice. Lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Allow it to steam for about 15 minutes.

Step 8: After 15 minutes, check your rice. Taste the rice to see if it is cooked. If not, allow it to steam for another five minutes. Once it's cooked, you’re all done!


The rice should look similar to the picture below once done, minus the parsley (unless you’re feeling fancy, I guess)

I really hope you enjoy it!


 

26 comments:

  1. This sounds so yummy!! It's awesome that you are able to be transparent with your feelings about feeling disconnected from your heritage, I hope that you will be able to feel closer to your heritage as you make more traditional dishes! Your recipe and directions were clear and neatly done! Awesome job! - Samantha Galarza

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  2. This recipe looks amazing!! I always love reading about the stories connected to these recipes, and I think it's a really cool way to embrace your culture.

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  3. Yay! I’m so glad you decided to share this recipe. As you know my parents are also from Kenya and every time I visit this is my favorite food. I love how you talked about your parents origin story and how this recipe ties back to your cultural history. You also incorporated some Swahili which I loved because it really tied into the authenticity of this meal. The ingredients are very simple and easy to understand and your directions were very straightforward. Overall great job! I’m going to have to make this recipe for myself. I just need to get some Pilau Masala.

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  4. I loved you story before showing us the recipe its so cool how people can have so much backstory to a family dish. And the best part is that it sounds so delicious!

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  5. I love reading culture foods, and your background story was well said. This looks so good and I for sure will try to make this in the future THANK YOU!!

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  6. Michaiah StanfordMay 5, 2021 at 9:22 AM

    Thank you Neema for sharing this recipe! I was glad to read about your culture and how you are still very connected to it. I will defiantly have to try this dish sometime!

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  7. Jaylene Del VaalMay 5, 2021 at 9:02 PM

    Your story is so awesome, thank you for sharing!! I really want to try this recipe now because the story behind it made it even better! Thank you for making the outline of the steps so easy to read(:

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  8. Diego KontorovskyMay 6, 2021 at 11:55 AM

    This was such a good read all the way through! Very excited to try out this recipe when I get the chance! Thank you so much for sharing this!!

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  9. Benjamin Galaz Jr.May 8, 2021 at 4:21 PM

    Usually I'm not too good with trying new things but it looks really good. I love how you even incorporated your families backstory into this dish.

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  10. I've never seen this kind of recipe before but it definitely makes me want to try it. I think I can figure this one out. Thanks for sharing

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  11. It looks so good and it made me hungry reading the recipe. Thank you for sharing your background and how important this dish is to you and your family.

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  12. This sounds so good! I love how you told a little story before you got into the recipe. I can’t wait to try this out!

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  13. I loved how you told your back round of how your family came to be! It was inspiring to know that even though you felt disconnected from your family origins, food can always bring us closer to our heritage! This looks amazing and flavorful and will definitely be adding it to my palet!

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  14. Wow! This dish sounds truly amazing! I loved reading about the importance it holds within your family and the background of the dish! Cannot wait to try this!

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  15. I love how you clearly labeled your steps throughout the essay! This recipe looks very good and I really want to try it!

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  16. Kaitlyn EdmundsonMay 10, 2021 at 5:49 PM

    I've never heard of pilau, but the way you described it makes me want to try it. Thank you for sharing a piece of your culture with us.

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  17. This looks so good! i really enjoyed the story behind your cultural food.

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  18. Andrew AbdulkarimMay 11, 2021 at 5:50 AM

    Trying new foods is something that I will never be opposed to and reading this recipe makes this dish sound very delicious. Great job and thanks for sharing!

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  19. This looks so good! Thank you so much for sharing. I can't wait to make this myself!!!

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  20. WOW! looks so yummy and amazing, also really loved your story and how important is it to you and your family!

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  21. Yay! I love love to cook new recipes and learning the heritage from it! Thank you for telling us your story, because in my opinion knowing the meaning and family history of a recipe is the most important thing other than the food itself :)! Thank youu again for sharing!! -Laura Clark

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  22. Neema I really related to you when you talked about feeling connected to your culture because it can be hard at times but I'm glad you're staying connected !! This recipe sounds amazing thank you !!!

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  23. It's so interesting learning about your heritage and how this dish connects to it. I definetly will try making this sometime but im not the best cook haha

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  24. As someone who's family comes from Ethiopia, I find this recipe very similar to the rice that my grandfather makes! This looks so good. Feeling closer to where I come from through is one of the best ways!

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  25. Awwww how cute I love how you incorporated the recipe at the end it makes it so fun and adorable. It sounds delicious and now I want to try.

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  26. Wow this dish sounds truly amazing and thank you for sharing the story behind the food. I've always wanted to visit Kenya

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