Pelau

Trinidad and Tobago's beloved one-pot: chicken seared in burnt sugar until mahogany, then simmered down with rice, pigeon peas, and coconut milk and a green seasoning built on thyme, chadon beni, and Scotch bonnet, the Sunday and lime-on-the-beach dish of the islands

Origin: Trinidad and Tobago

From the journey of Thyme.

Pelau is the great one-pot of Trinidad and Tobago, a dish whose very name and method trace back, by way of the Indian and Middle Eastern pilau, to the rice-and-meat traditions that the island's many peoples carried to the Caribbean. Trinidad made it its own with two unmistakable local touches: the African-Caribbean technique of caramelising the meat in burnt sugar for colour and depth, and the islands' pigeon peas and coconut milk. Holding it all together is green seasoning, the blended fresh herb base that Trinidadians keep in every kitchen, built above all on thyme and chadon beni (culantro), with garlic, onion, and Scotch bonnet. Thyme is the steady backbone of that seasoning and of the whole dish, the European herb long since woven into the deepest layers of Trinidadian cooking. Pelau is the food of the cricket match, the river lime, and the Sunday pot, made in one heavy pot and eaten from bowls.

Ingredients

Chicken and green seasoning

  • 1.2 kg chicken pieces, cut into small bone-in portions
  • 6 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 6 leaves chadon beni (culantro), or a large handful of coriander, chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 4 spring onions, chopped
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp salt

Pelau

  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar (for caramelising)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 300 g pigeon peas (fresh or tinned, drained)
  • 400 g long-grain rice, rinsed
  • 400 ml coconut milk
  • 400 ml chicken stock or water
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 Scotch bonnet pepper, left whole

Method

  1. Make the green seasoning: blend the thyme leaves, chadon beni, garlic, and spring onions with the soy sauce and salt to a coarse paste. Rub it into the chicken and marinate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
  2. Scrape most of the seasoning off the chicken and reserve it; pat the chicken fairly dry.
  3. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the brown sugar and let it melt to a dark, bubbling amber caramel, about 1 to 2 minutes.
  4. Add the chicken to the caramel and turn to coat each piece deep brown, frying for 5 minutes. Add the chopped onion and the reserved green seasoning and cook for a further 3 minutes.
  5. Stir in the pigeon peas, then the rice, turning it through the caramelised chicken until coated and glossy.
  6. Pour in the coconut milk and stock, add the carrot, and tuck in the whole Scotch bonnet. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low, cover, and cook for about 20 to 25 minutes until the rice is tender and the liquid absorbed.
  7. Rest off the heat, covered, for 10 minutes. Discard the Scotch bonnet and thyme stalks, fluff gently, and serve with coleslaw and fried plantain.

Notes

Pelau is endlessly adaptable; beef or a mix of meats can replace chicken, and the pigeon peas (gandules) are essential to its character but can be swapped for black-eyed peas at a pinch. The caramel-browning and the green seasoning are the two non-negotiable Trinidadian techniques here. Chadon beni (culantro) has a stronger, more pungent flavour than the coriander often used to substitute it; use coriander generously if you cannot find it.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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