Kenyan Pilau

Ingredients

• 500g stewing beef, cut into 3cm cubes
• 500g basmati rice
• 5 tbsp sunflower oil
• 3 large onions, thinly sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 thumb fresh ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp pilau masala (or 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander, 1 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp clove, 1/2 tsp cardamom)
• 4 green cardamom pods, bruised
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 potatoes, cut into large chunks (optional)
• 900ml beef stock, hot
• 2 tsp salt
• Kachumbari, to serve

Before you cook

• Rinse the rice in several changes of cold water until it runs clear, then soak it in fresh water for 20 minutes.
• Slice the onions as thinly and evenly as you can.
• Cut the beef into even cubes and pat them dry.
• Crush the garlic and grate the ginger into a bowl together.
• Drain the rice thoroughly in a sieve and leave it to dry.

Steps

1. Heat the oil in a heavy casserole over medium heat and add the cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, cloves and cumin seeds.
2. Fry the whole spices for 45 seconds until they crackle and smell fragrant.
3. Add the sliced onions and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring regularly, until they are genuinely deep brown, not just golden.
4. Scoop out a spoonful of the browned onions and set them aside for the top.
5. Add the garlic and ginger to the pot and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Turn the heat up, add the beef, and brown it for 8 minutes, letting it stick a little and then scraping the base.
7. Stir in the pilau masala and cook for 1 minute.
8. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes until they break down.
9. Pour in 300ml of the hot stock, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes until the beef is tender.
10. Add the potato chunks if you are using them and the salt.
11. Tip in the drained rice and turn it gently through the meat and onions for 2 minutes so every grain is coated brown.
12. Pour in the remaining 600ml hot stock and check that the liquid sits about 1.5cm above the rice.
13. Bring it to a boil, then turn the heat to the lowest setting and cover with a tight lid.
14. Cook undisturbed for 20 minutes, then lift the lid and check that the liquid is gone and small craters have formed on the surface.
15. Take the pot off the heat, cover it again and leave it to stand for 10 minutes.
16. Fluff the rice with a fork, scatter the reserved onions over the top, and serve with kachumbari.