Local Rice

One of the easiest meals you can cook for your children and the family generally is palm oil/Local rice. I always encourage mothers to introduce their traditional meals to the children when they start eating solids. you can start with the soft soups and morsels and then move to the grainy meals.

So my Mother-in-Love came over with a bag of dry fish and I just knew I would be cooking this rice like...the next day. I always look forward to her fish,giant sized dried catfish.so yummy. 

Ingredients

• 3 cups of rice
• 5 tomatoes,2 red bell peppers (Tatashe) and 2 scotch bonnet ,2 cloves Garlic and a small onion(All blended and steamed)
• 2 bullion cubes
• one large onion ,diced
• meat stock
• 6 big Basil Leaves,washed and shredded (also known as Efirin, Scent Leaf)
• 6 tablespoons of palm oil (Palm oil is not bad,moderate use of it is rich enough).
• one tablespoon of locust bean(iru)
  

1. To cook,place a pot on the burner, add the palm oil,and let it heat up and melt, add the onions and fry them till translucent, fry the locus beans also but be careful not burn it.
2. Pour in the tomato pepper paste or ground chilli powder and mix, add the meat stock.
3. In a bowl,sort the dry fish and pour very hot water over it. This will soften the fish in some minutes.Sort the fish in chunks to add texture to the meal.
4. Pour the already parboiled rice into the oil and onions and cover with meatstock ,and a little water just a little above the rice level. (be careful not to over season with your cubes since you are using meatstock.
5. add some of the dry fish and cook over medium heat, when its almost cooked,put your shredded basil leaves int he pot and the remaining dry fish.
6. Cook until soft enough but not soggy.
7. Stir and serve.