Kukulhu Masbaiy

Although the name has mas baiy in it, this rice dish is really a long way off from the traditional mas baiy we make with tuna. But with that being said, it’s really lovely for lunch, even on its own, but especially with some dhal curry or some sort of dry curry.

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped chicken (bite sized cubes)
• ½ tsp. ground black pepper
• ¼ cup oil (for frying the chicken)
• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 1 medium onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 inch slice of ginger
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 tbsp. oil (for sautéing onions etc.)
• 3 inch cinnamon
• 3 cardamom pods
• ½ tsp. black peppercorns
• ¼ githeyo mirus (scotch bonnet pepper)
• 1/3 tsp. turmeric powder
• ¼ tsp. ground cumin
• 2 ¼ cups water
• 1 tsp. salt (or to taste)
• ½  cup chopped coriander leaves

Instructions:

1. Combine the chopped chicken with salt (we used 1/3 tsp.) and ground black pepper.
2. Heat ¼ cup oil in a pot. Add chicken and fry until red and crispy. Once fried, remember to drain off the excess oil.
3. Wash the rice thoroughly.
4. Slice the onion and squash the ginger and garlic by using the back of a spoon.
5. Deseed and chop the tomatoes into bite-sized cubes.
6. Heat up the oil in a large pot and then add the sliced onion, cinnamon, cardamom, black peppercorns and githeyo mirus. Cook the mixture until the onions soften and begin to turn brown.
7. Add the ginger and garlic and cook until you can smell their aroma; this will happen quite quickly, in less than a minute.
8. Then add the turmeric and ground cumin, and give it a good mix. Cook for approximately a minute.
9. Then add the rice and cook it for another minute while stirring continuously.
10. Add water and salt (we added 2/3 tsp.) to the pot.
11. Bring the mixture to a boil and then lower the heat a bit. Let it cook until almost all the water evaporates and then add the tomatoes and gently mix them in.
12. When all the water has evaporated completely, add the fried chicken and chopped coriander. Mix well, switch off the stove, and that’s it.