Chicken Pelau

I think we can all agree that Chicken Pelau is the official food of Trinidad & Tobago carnival. If you disagree feel free to let us know your choice in the comments. Whether it was packing it up in containers to go enjoy on the road, watching bands pass by on carnival Tuesday. Or my aunt carrying a pot with her friends to go watch Brass Fest. This dish definitely had a role to play in my memories of carnival in the past.

This recipe incorporates my green seasoning and pays homage to the carnival of yesteryear.

Chicken Pelau

Chicken Pelau

Chicken Pleau is definitely the official food of Trinidad & Tobago Carnival. Like and share if you agree!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe

Prep Time: 1 day day 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Caribbean, Tobago, Trinbagonian, Trinidad

Keyword: chicken, pelau, rice

Servings: 12

Author: baidawi

Ingredients

Seasoned Chicken

• 1 whole chicken
• ¼ cup white vinegar
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 5 tbsp green seasoning
• 5 dashes Angostura aromatic bitters

Pelau

• 2 cups fresh pigeon peas
• 2 cups whole grain, parboiled rice washed & drained
• 4 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 onion diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 3 pimentos finely chopped
• 1 lb pumpkin cubed
• 1 scotch bonnet pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp roucou
• 3 cups coconut milk
• 3 tsp green seasoning
• salt to taste
• black pepper to taste

Instructions

Seasoning The Chicken

• Remove skin from chicken then cut parts into bite sized pieces
• Wash chicken with vinegar and water
• Drain water from chicken
• Season chicken with salt, black pepper, green seasoning and bitters
• Cover and refrigerate. Allow to marinate overnight.

Making The Pelau

• Boil pigeon peas for 20 minutes
• Add coconut oil to a pot on high heat
• Add brown sugar to the pot then allow sugar to begin to caramelize
• Keep moving brown sugar around in the pot with a wooden spoon until it begins to get frothy
• Once caramelized sugar goes from light brown to dark brown add chicken pieces one by one making sure to not add any liquid
• Toss chicken in caramelized sugar making sure each piece is well coated
• Allow chicken to cook for approximately 5 minutes
• Add roucou then add onion, garlic, pimento, pumpkin, green seasoning and bay leaves
• Season with salt and black pepper then cover and allow to simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes
• Add pigeon peas and rice and combine well with other ingredients
• Season with salt and black pepper
• Add coconut milk and scotch bonnet pepper then bring to a boil
• Reduce heat then cover and allow to simmer for 15 minutes
• Turn off fire then allow to sit for 10 to 20 minutes before enjoying.

Video

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!