Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Coconut, Black-Eyed Pea, Pepper & Pandan Rice: a Spicy M'Baazi Mash Up

Remember when I told you about how the fabulicious Maya of Foodiva's Kitchen unexpectedly gifted me with fresh pandan leaves from Brunei? Naturally, the first thing I did with it was make a boozy cocktail.

But then I was inspired to go a more solid and nutritious route when Nancy of Spicie Foodie - another beneficiary of Maya's ingredient largesse - posted her pandan coconut rice dish.

You could say I became rather monomaniacal in my desire for coconut pandan rice, but I wanted to put my own spin on it. It occurred to me that incorporating elements of m'baazi - a Kenyan coconut and black eyed pea dish I am quite fond of - was just the ticket.  I was right: the delicate macadamia nuttiness of the pandan worked perfectly with the aggressive earthiness of the beans and sweetness of the coconut. And, me being me, I added some red chile peppers to the mix to give the whole thing pizazz.  I was lucky that I had fresh black eyed peas from the farmer's market, but dried ones would work as well. I would suggest you cook them separately and then add them to the dish.

M'baazi Mash Up

2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 small white onion, diced
1 small green pepper, diced
1 small sweet red pepper, diced
1,2, or 3 red chile peppers, depending on your heat tolerance
1 pound fresh black eyed peas (or the equivalent dried or canned)
1 cup basmati rice
1 cup coconut milk
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 pandan leaf, knotted in the middle
salt and white pepper, to taste

Saute the onion, green pepper, red pepper, and hot pepper in the coconut oil until soft. Add all of the rest of the ingredients (if you are using dried beans, cook until soft in another pot before adding), bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, until the rice is cooked. Remove the pandan leaf and sat and pepper to taste. 

This is a rich and satisfying meal that is great for the fall weather we're having in this hemisphere, but isn't too heavy for those of you who are entering spring and summer. 

And hey kids -  I am the featured food blogger over at Yummly. Yes, you all knew I was certifiable, but now I am officially Certified Yummly. If you'd like to learn a bit more about me go check it out

Thank you again Maya and Nancy for the inspiration!





21 comments:

  1. What a great recipe, full of colors and great ingredients. I love Maya, she is very sweet. Your photos are fabulous. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. oh yum. Lots of my favorite flavors all in one dish. I MUST try this.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This looks delish and very Trix-like. I'm not familiar with Pandan but perhaps if I wink and act all cute some blogger will send me some? Me being me and all?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow this looks so delicious and I love your presentation! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. This looks so great. I have been looking for pandan leaves and consider myself lucky if I run across pandan extract. Beautiful job as always

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a gorgeous rice dish, Trix! I'm not sure I'll ever have access to pandan, but if I do, I'll be back for the recipe :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. My kind of food, esp with pandans, lovely and tasty.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love how you experiment with African recipe, I love them too. And what a combo of fabulous flavors in this dish,looks divine.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Looks fabulous, and deliciously described! I've never cooked with pandan, but black-eyed peas, coconut and chiles I know well :) Maya and Nancy are always an inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
  10. You are the most adventurous blogger I know~ must be fun to travel with you as you are open to all kinds of possibilities; never cooked with these pandan leaves, but will next chance I get, starting with your recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a fantastic mix of flavors. Looks wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Fantastic. I love how fearless you are w/ cooking. You go, girl! The dish looks AMAZING!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Beautiful, Trix. I must must must try this pandan. The combo looks fab... now, if I just knew how pandan tasted...
    Sadly, this dish could never happen in my house.. Dr Lostpast is deathly allergic to peppers (can't even smell them cooking) and hates coconut milk!!! Perhaps when he is away for a few days.... HMMMM

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a great mix of ingredients! I haven't had black eyed peas since I lived in the south!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm late to the commenting party but am finally here to say how GLAD I am that you're monomaniacal for this rice dish! Your take on m'baazi is so original and delicious that I foresee an African-Asian cookbook or restaurant on the cards, Trix ;-).

    I'm laughing at Trevor's cute comment too, it looks like I may have to start my online pandan mail-order store soon! LOL.

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a beautiful dish! Delicious combos!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Trixie, I'm so late getting here but you know where I've been. First congrats on the Yummly feature, will check it out next. Your rice looks amazing! I love that you incorporated the Pandan into one of your other recipes. Sadly I ran out of mine otherwise I'd be trying out your recipe. But I think I'll still try out the M'Baazi. Thanks for the link :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Trix,
    Found you through Nancy, and I have to say how jealous I am Diva sent you some leaves, lol. This rice sounded so good had to get the recipe. Will be back soon.
    -Gina-

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi Trix, I'm back to say thanks for participating in the YBR! So thanks :)

    ReplyDelete