Quote:
Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce
Does that mean you've had a proper "Tanzanian-style rice pilao with peanut sauce" to compare?
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Well, I think I had something closely approximating it, anyways. My boss is a wildlife ecologist specializing in large mammals of africa; he lives in africa quite a large portion of the year and has done so for ages, he and his wife both. They invited me to a christmas dinner party a couple weeks ago and what they served as the main course was an african rice pilao with mushrooms and onions and a spicy peanut sauce. A Tanzanian student was also in attendance and it seemed to meet with his approval, and I loved it to pieces, myself. Relatively simple in nature, but surprisingly complex in flavor thanks to the addition of a spice blend that's a combination of cumin, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, and cinnamon. Also some things like ginger, garlic, cayenne, and green chiles, and a little coconut milk. It's quite a lovely taste, a lovely sort of subdued, earthy spice going on. I had to blend the spice mix by hand, though, and one thing I probably need to do is let them all integrate together a bit longer before I use them again. I can say that today, after it's been in the fridge overnight, the cooked dish actually smells and tastes even better than it did last night, in part because the flavors were able to meld together a bit better.