Pelau Recipe (My favorite Trini dish)

So this is one of my favorite dishes from back home in Trinidad. I thought I'd share it with you. It's called a Pelau. It's an Afro-Caribbean inspired rice, peas and stew chicken dish. It's very easy to make and it's definitely a healthy choice. Try it out!

INGREDIENTS:

4 lbs mixed chicken pieces
1 large onion
2 large tomatoes
1 whole head of garlic
2 tins pigeon peas
2 lbs brown rice
cooking margarine
2 scotch bonnet peppers
1 kettle of hot/boiling water

One large batch of seasoning (1 rounded tsp salt, 1 rounded tsp pepper, chopped chives, 1 tsp thyme, 4 cloves chopped garlic, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp Angostura bitters, 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp. soy sauce and 1 tbsp. ketchup)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place chicken pieces in large glass dish.
2. Sprinkle seasoning over meat.
3. Add 2 teaspoons of salt, a few shakes of black pepper.
4. Add several dashes of worcestershire sauce and soy sauce.
5. Allow to stand overnight in the fridge
6. Place 3 tablespoons of oil in a stew pot (or dutch oven).
7. Bring to high heat and add one level tablespoon of sugar and allow to brown

8. Cook chicken until skin pulls away and chicken is -half- cooked.

9. Empty chicken into bowl.

10. Finely chop the onion, garlic, and tomato – place into a separate bowl

11. Pour chicken into a 6-8 quart pot.

12. Empty pigeon peas into the pot with the chicken.

13. Add 2 cups of hot/boiling water.

14. Add the seasonings and salt and black pepper

15. Stir pot to integrate all contents until pot starts to boil again.

16. Add 3 tablespoons of margarine to pot and drop in scotch bonnet peppers.

17. Turn down heat to medium

18. Add 2 potspoons of ketchup to pot and stir

19. When seasoning has softened add 5 cups of rice

20. Stir pot to mix evenly and cover.

21. Maintain moderate to low heat so that the pot continues cooking. Stir periodically to ensure even 

mix and cooking of rice.

22. Add 1/4 cups of hot water as necessary until rice is cooked and grainy (Basically as the rice slowly swells the water level will drop. Add water periodically to keep the liquid on level with the rice grains. Stirring each time to ensure even cooking).

23. When grains are cooked remove cover.

24. On low heat allow pot to continue to simmer until moisture disappears.