Pelau

Prepare and clean chicken as above but season as below. Use 1/1.5lb of cleaned chicken for 2/3 people.

Preparation of Pilau is in three stages, seasoning, cooking the chicken, and preparing the rice.

Season the chicken as above.

Ingredients

teaspoon of sugar
gravy browning
One and a half Onions sliced
Tomato Ketchup
Half a WI Pepper
A Tin of Tomatoes (8 oz)
Soy Sauce
Salt and pepper
1 Tin Gungo Peas
Butter

Method

Heat 1.5 tablespoons of oil in a wok or pot with 1.5 teaspoons of sugar. When sugar melts and turns dark brown (almost black) add chicken. Spoon chicken into pot reserving the liquid from the seasoning for use later. Add half a teaspoon of gravy browning and stir thoroughly. Cook on a fairly high heat covered for 10 minutes.

Uncover and add a small onion sliced finely and 1 tablespoon of tomato ketchup, cover again and allow to continue cooking for about another 10 minutes stirring regularly. A lot of the liquid will be absorbed. Remove the chicken with a spoon to a dish, ensuring that you remove only the chicken leaving the mixture and oil, the resulting chicken will be dark brown and almost dry. Drain of almost all of the liquid into the reserved liquid from the marinade.

Rice

Into the pot that the chicken was cooked add half an onion sliced finely and half a pepper chopped with a couple of sliced spring onions. Cook for a few seconds. Add rice and the other half tin of tomatoes and stir briskly also adding another half tablespoon of seasoning. Add half tablespoon of Soy sauce and 2 teaspoons of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper and continue stirring. When the mixture starts to stick pour 1 cup of boiling water onto the reserved seasoning and mix in then add to mixture. Also add 3 cups of boiling water and stir to mix.

The balance of rice to water is critical to success and water must be added sparingly throughout. Too much water and the result is soupy, too little and the Pilau is dry. Let mixture cook on fairly high heat partially covered for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile open a can of green gungo peas(Grace or Dunns River are popular makes) and wash and drain in a colander.

Uncover pot and add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, peas and 1 teaspoon of browning and stir in gently. Reheat slowly and let simmer for 2/3 minutes.

Finally add 1 oz of butter and chicken and very carefully mix in. Cover and remove from heat and allow to settle before serving.

Pilau is very good served with a crisp cold mixed salad with no seasoning.