Rice is synonymous with Sundays in our home. A Sunday without rice, preferably rice and stew, feels unnatural. This weekend, my sister, niece, and brother in law visited. Family is everything to me, so you bet that love had to come through in the kitchen.
I learned to make coconut rice from my mummy. Making coconut rice was usually ceremonious as we all had a role. One of us would grate the coconuts, and the others would chop the vegetables (carrots, onions, green onions, and peas). This meant that we were all in the kitchen at the same time with lots of banter, love, and laughter. Such wonderful moments that last forever. Grating the coconuts was the most wanted task, and I usually ended up getting it, thanks to seniority privileges 🙂
This weekend, I made a version of coconut rice that I trust Mummy would be proud of, using ingredients that were readily available at home.
- 3 cups of parboiled long grain rice (washed and drained)
- 2 cups of coconut milk
- 2 cups of water
- 1 green bell pepper (chopped)
- 1 yellow bell pepper (chopped)
- 1 orange bell pepper (chopped)
- 1 large red onion
- 1 bunch of fresh parsley
- 1 tsp. dried pepper
- 3 tbsp. canola oil
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1tsp. Ms. Dash
- 2 tsp. thyme
- 1 tsp. curry
- 3 large bay leaves
- ½ cup shredded coconut
- Place the washed rice in a non-stick pot.
- Pour the water, bay leaves, thyme, and coconut milk and set to cook on low-medium heat.
- Heat a nonstick pan for 1 minute and add the coconut.
- Leave coconut in the pan on low heat for about 5-7 minutes while stirring continuously, or until coconut brown and becomes crispy.
- Turn off the coconut heat, and allow the coconuts to cool.
- In a separate pan, heat the oil for one minute and add the onions.
- Allow the onions to cook for about 5 minutes while stirring, then add the chopped peppers.
- Check the rice and this point to ensure that it is cooking evenly. Add about ¼ cup of water (additional) if needed.
- Stir pepper/onions mix and cook for about 3 more minutes and then turn off heat.
- The rice should have softened a bit now, cook for about 5 more minutes after which rice should be almost done.
- Add the peppers, and seasoning to the rice, stir to combine, reduce heat, and add about ¼ cup of water if needed.
- Cook with the pot uncovered for about 5 minutes or until rice becomes soft but not mushy.
- Turn off heat.
- Finish with chopped parsley and leave to cool.
- Serve with toasted coconuts.
We had ours with roast drumsticks, string beans (not shown), and fried plantains. It tasted great, I loved it and hope you do too.
Oya Come Chop! 🙂
Made my eyes and mouth water! Thanks for sharing this yummy recipe and beautiful memories