East African Pelau Rice

A tasty rice dish with a lot of calories

I made this dish on my recent section hike, and also enjoyed it back in April in the Shenandoahs.  With cashews and coconut milk, it’ll turn simple rice into valuable calories, and the mixture of spices give it awesome flavor.  It easily stands alone as a main meal, but also makes a great side for something like my African Beef Stew (which is what I did last week).  It’s also relatively lightweight.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of Basmati rice in a snack-sized ziploc

Fresh items: 1 SMALL onion, 1 clove of garlic, and a nubbin of ginger root (enough to make 1/4 tsp. minced)

1 packet of Packit Gourmet vegetable broth (or equivalent)

1 packet of Ghee

1 60g packet of Chao Thai coconut milk powder

1/2-1 cup of raw whole cashews

1 heaping tablespoon each of dehydrated tomato dices and diced red pepper in a snack-sized ziploc

Spices in a mini ziploc:  Small bay leaf, 1 inch of a cinnamon stick, pinch of curry powder, 1/2 tsp. each of cumin and pepper flake, 1/4 tsp. each of ground cardamom, star anise, smoked paprika and white pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Prior to cooking, add some water to rehydrate the diced tomato and red pepper.

Dice the onion and mince the garlic and ginger, set aside.

Saute cashews in ghee until lightly browned.  Then add onion, garlic and ginger and saute until onion is translucent.

Add bag of spices and saute 1 more minute.

Add rehydrated tomato and red pepper, and saute for 1 additional minute.

Stir in uncooked rice, saute for 2 more minutes.

Stir in 2 cups of water, broth packet and Chao Thai powder.  

Bring mixture to a boil, then simmer covered for 15-20 minutes.  This is a very low simmer; you don’t want liquid bubbling out of the pot.

NOTES:  This dish will work fine if you choose to use dehydrated onion, garlic and ginger.  If you go this route, put them in the baggie with the tomato and red pepper.  I just personally think these items, used fresh, make a dish pop.  Also, you’ll need to decide on your own how much cashew you want in this dish.  For me, it’s the more the better.  The final product will be moist, not fluffy.

The above will feed one really hungry hiker, or two average appetites.  I manage to cook it in my 0.6L pot just barely.  I made too much of it when I was in the Shenandoahs, but several yogis swooped in to help me out.