COOKING WITH KARZ: Pilau: A slow, spicy affair

The onions demand a slow, golden foreplay in hot oil, until they’re sweet, dark and irresistible. Then come the spices: cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, each one stepping in like a lover with a different trick, perfuming the air, teasing your senses.When the meat hits the pot, things get serious. It sizzles, it blushes, it soaks up the warmth of everything around it. Tomato paste slides in and melts the spices. They ease into place, and suddenly, you’re in too deep to walk away.

Finally, the rice arrives: soft, willing, ready to soak up all the love and heat in the pot. And then you wait. That’s the hardest part: resisting the urge to lift the lid too soon.When you finally do, the steam kisses your face and you know this is worth it! Each bite is bold, fragrant, comforting… the kind of meal that doesn’t just fill you up, it keeps you wanting more.

Serve it with fresh kachumbari mixed with avocado and a cool yoghurt, or a drink of your choice, and watch as whoever you cook for looks at you differently, like you’ve just revealed a secret.

Ingredients

-2 cups rice

-500g beef or goat meat, cubed

-6 onions, sliced

-100g tomato paste

-4 garlic cloves, crushed

-1 thumb ginger, grated

-2 tbsp pilau masala

-1tsp Dark Soy sauce

-1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cloves, 4 cardamom pods, 1 bay leaf

-4 tbsp oil, salt, 4 cups beef broth/water

Method

Boil your meat until it’s tender and soft. Into the bubbling pot, add one onion, a clove of garlic, ginger and a pinch of salt. Let them marinate, soaking up each other’s essence.Drain the meat and set the fragrant broth aside for later.Fry three onions slowly until golden and sweet; patience is key. Add garlic and ginger, give them a little touch, then add tomato paste and let them get a little familiar. Take the mix, blend them into a silky, aromatic mix, then set aside.

In another pot, fry your meat until it glows golden. Add the two sliced onions, stirring them until they turn a deep caramel brown. Sprinkle in whole spices and pilau masala, then fold in the remaining tomato paste and add soy sauce.

Pour in the blended mix. Let all the flavours melt together like old friends reunited.Slide in the rinsed rice. Stir gently, letting the grains touch, get comfortable and flirt with each other and fully infuse with the sauce. Before they get too familiar, add broth, cover tightly and let them get intimate on low heat.Rest before serving, because, as with all good things, anticipation makes the experience unforgettable.Careful, this pilau might just win you more than compliments!

Tip: One key factor for brown colour

Caramelised onions

Slicing and frying a generous amount of onions in oil until they are deeply golden or dark brown is crucial for achieving the characteristic brown colour.

This browning process, known as the Millard reaction, develops complex flavours and the desired colour.

Cooking with Karz is your weekend escape into the kitchen, where recipes are more than instructions, they’re little love affairs. Each week, Karz stirs up dishes that flirt with your senses, warm your heart and leave you craving just one more bite