Rice & Pea’s

A beginners guide to rice and pea’s. This is for all those who struggle to get the right texture of rice. Cooking this in an instant cooker or rice cooker will always result in the best rice. If you don’t have one - that’s fine! Let me help you make sure you get your quantities right if your not used to eyeballing it!

Ingredients

180g dried kidney beans

1.2 litre (5 measured cups) of water

5 sprigs of thyme

salt

380g (2 measured cups) basmati rice, washed

thumb of ginger, minced

250ml coconut milk

250ml of left over bean water

450ml of water

1 spring onion, sliced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

4 pimento, grounded

2 sprigs of thyme, stems removed

1/2 scotch bonnet pepper, seeds removed

salt

veg stick cube (optional)

1/2 tsp magi seasoning (optional)

Method

Add kidney beans to a pot, cover with water, season with salt and thyme. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat, pop a lid on top and cook until tender. This can take anywhere from 1 hour to 2 hours. Soaking beans over night can reduce cooking time. If you’re water reduces too much, add more water to the pot. Once soft, drain the beans from the water into a measuring cup to measure 250ml of bean water.

Cook down garlic, ginger, pimento, spring onions in oil until lightly browned. Then add washed rice, measured bean liquid, coconut milk and water. Add scotch bonnet pepper season to taste with salt. Mix to combine and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce heat to a low simmer, pop a lid on top and cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn heat off but keep the lid on for another 10 minutes to allow the steam to continue to soften the rice. Remove lid, fluff and serve hot.

TIPS!

Don’t take the lid off before 10 mins of cooking time.

Make sure its on a low simmer with the lid on and not boiling.

Make sure to turn off heat after 10 mins and allow to rest with the lid on.