Kenyan Beef and Potato Pilau

With all of this COVID 19 pause, I have done enough cooking and baking to open a restaurant.  Its not like I wasnt cooking before but now, I have bene going the extra mile, doing mroe, making it more special.  Maybe because it feels like the only 'spice' of life at the moment.  I mean, its not like we can go out and hang out with people.  Cant go out to dinner, relax and kick back in a different atmosphere.  So I have created, at least tried to create something special here at home.  We really enjoyed this meal and I have a feeling it will appear on our table again.  Stay well everyone!


Kenyan Beef and Potato Pilau

2 cups basmati rice or any other rice you may have

2 cups of potatoes, cut into 1" cubes

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 medium onions, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons ginger, minced

1 serrano chile, finely chopped

1 tablespoon pilau spice mix (see below)

4 cups chicken or beef broth

¼ cup fresh cilantro roughly chopped

1 lb ground beef 

3 Roma tomatoes diced

2 Bay leaves

2 tablespoons palm sugar or brown sugar

Salt to taste

Pilau spice mix

1 Tsp cloves

2 tbsp dumin seeds

1 Stick cinnamon

1/2 Tbsp black peppercorn seeds

12 pods cardamon

Heat a Dutch oven or a stockpot on medium-high heat. Saute onions in oil and fry for 10-15 minutes or till the onions starts to turn golden brown (be careful not to burn it). Add the ground beef and salt. Saute until beef is browned. Add the garlic, ginger, bay leaves, serrano pepper, Cook for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the diced tomatoes and cook for 4-5 minutes, until the tomatoes have released their liquid. Stir in the potatoes and the broth. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the rice, and cover tightly. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes, until the rice is cooked and the liquid is absorbed. Once rice is cooked, fluff with a fork to ensure the seasonings are well distributed all around the rice.