Pelau

Here's a recipe for a traditional New Year's Day dish in Trinidad. What's nice about it is that you can cook up a whole pot and serve a lot of people for relatively low cost--particularly good if you have many New Year's Day visitors.

Pelau
Serves 6

Pelau is one of those dishes that really exemplifies Trinidadian cuisine because it is an admixture of various cooking styles. Pelau, or rice layered with meats and vegetables is a variation of East Indian pilau, which originated in Persia where it is called “pollow.” The anglicized version of the dish is called “pilaf.” The process of browning the meat in sugar for pelau is an African tradition and ketchup is a new world addition to the dish, although I suspect it has its basis in tomato chutneys available in British India and likely brought to Trinidad by the English.
Chicken is the usual meat in pelau but tender cuts of stew beef or lamb work just as well. In Tobago, pelau is often made with crab and that recipe follows.


3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar (white or brown)
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup pigeon peas, pinto beans, or black eyed peas
2 cups water
1 cup coconut milk
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons Green Seasoning
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 cup chopped parsley
5 scallions, stemmed and chopped (white and green parts)
2 cups long grain rice (not instant)
2 cups cubed fresh calabaza or butternut squash
1 small scotch bonnet pepper, whole
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon butter


If using dried peas, soak peas overnight in three cups of water. Drain. Bring 3 fresh cups of water to a boil in a saucepan and add peas. Simmer for 15 minutes or until cooked almost completely through. Drain and set aside. If using canned beans, drain rinse with cold water, drain again, and set aside.
Heat a Dutch oven or other heavy deep pot. Add oil and heat. Add sugar and swirl in pot and allow to caramelize to a dark brown color. Add chicken and stir well to coat. Lower heat to medium and add onion and garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Wash rice by placing in colander or fine mesh sieve and running cold water over rice until water runs clear. Drain well and set aside.
Add water, coconut, coconut milk, Green Seasoning, parsley, thyme, carrots and scallions to chicken. Cover and simmer on medium-low for 10 minutes.
Add rice, squash, peas, pepper, ketchup and butter. Reduce heat to low-medium, cover and cook for 20 minutes or until peas and vegetables are tender.
Remove lid and fluff. Rice should be moist but not sticky.