South African Yellow Rice

I love discovering new cities and towns.My formal education in Architecture & Construction technology helps me understand the intricacies of town design,landscape & construction dynamics.

Have seen most of Europe,America & South-East Asia by the age of 12.However,South Africa,Australia & New Zealand are on the list of “would love to see favourites” (Rohan are you listening? :P).

 

 

No harm visiting South Africa boarded on a dreamy flight,isn’t it? I started digging for some specialties of SA.Their cuisine is not very popular but certainly yummy.

I am presenting their famous Yellow Rice that I found on Allrecipes.com .Yellow Rice has a traditional South African recipe, which comes from the great culinary tradition of the Cape Malays -- originally brought in as slaves in the 17th century.

After eating this rice,I was reminded of a similar Maharashtrian delicacy called “Khichadi”. Might be an effect of Gandhian movement in SA,what say?

But,before the recipe and relish,let us enjoy a virtual trip through the South African living.

Merry Go Round To South Africa

South African construction exhibit a strong influence of British engineering.The Dutch East India company began colonizing SA (Cape Town) in 1806.

 

South Africa is known for its diversity in cultures, languages, and religious beliefs. Eleven official languages are recognized in the constitution.South Africa is ethnically diverse, with the largest Caucasian, Indian, and racially mixed communities in Africa.

South Africa is ranked sixth out of the world’s seventeen mega diverse countries,with more than 20,000 different plants, or about 10% of all the known species of plants on Earth, making it particularly rich in plant biodiversity.

It may be argued that there is no "single" culture in South Africa because of its ethnic diversity. This diversity has breathed in a unique variety in the South African Cuisine too.South African cuisine is a potpourri of Eastern & Western foods.To fully appreciate the multi-cultural aspect of South Africa's gastronomy, it is necessary to understand its historic evolution.

South African cuisine is heavily meat-based and has spawned the distinctively South African social gathering known as a braai, or barbecue. South Africa has also developed into a major wine producer, with some of the best vineyards lying in valleys around Stellenbosch, Franschoek, Paarl and Barrydale.

Ingredients

• 1 cup long grain white rice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 3 tablespoons white sugar-I used only 3 tsp of sugar as per the reviews.
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup black raisins –I used only about 10 raisins.
• 1 tablespoon butter-I used normal cooking oil instead.
• 2 1/2 cups water
• red chili powder (my addition)
• 2 cloves (my addition)
• dried powdered parsley (my addition).However,cilantro could be added as well.
• Lemon juice-After eating,I thought some juice would do wonders to the recipe. (my suggestion)

Total Time=Cooking Time+Preparation Time=15 minutes (max)

Boil It & Fluff Up

In a saucepan (one could opt for the pressure cooker.However,mine had gone for a toss with its broken valve), I combined the rice, salt, turmeric, sugar, red chili powder,cinnamon, raisins, cloves,parsley and oil and water. Allowed it to boil (uncovered). When it  began boiling, I reduced the heat to low, covered and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes (unlike the actual recipe where it suggests simmering it for 20-30 minutes.I felt it would mash up completely), or until rice was fluffy and water has been absorbed. I removed it  from the heat and fluff with a fork. It tasted like heaven when hot. I garnished it with dried parsley!

It's easy and plain, but great with meats like venison, corned beef tongue,any meat with gravy or Bobotie.However,I ate it with simple green onion (spring onion) salad and curd!