Pilau with Beef Recipe from Kenya

Pilau with beef is a traditional and iconic dish in Kenyan cuisine. It’s often served during special occasions and celebrations such as weddings, birthdays, and holidays. But we have found it to make for an amazing dinner any time of the week.

There is much to celebrate at our program in Kenya. Last year alone, we distributed over 126,000 meals to local children in need. These meals are keeping children in school, restoring families, and spreading the gospel. It’s amazing what God can do with a simple meal. 

Making this dish might not be such a life-changing experience for you, but it will be an opportunity to try some new flavors, experience Kenyan culture with your family, and could open up some great dinner table conversations.

We hope you enjoy this delicious dish and that it connects you in a deeper way with our extended Kenyan family. If you’d like to learn more about what our Christ-centered and holistic children’s program is doing in Kenya, you can do so here.

Pilau with Beef (Kenya)

Forward Edge International
Pilau with beef is a traditional and iconic dish in Kenyan cuisine, it's often served during special occasions and celebrations such as weddings, birthdays, and holidays. But we have found it to make for an amazing dinner any time of the week. Connect with our Kenya program by making this delicious dish and learn how we're helping children in Kenya at www.forwardedge.org/kenya.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Course Main Course

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups basmati rice
  • 5 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 medium red onions, thinly sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 Tbsp ginger, minced
  • 1 serrano chile, finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp pilau masala (see recipe or purchase on Amazon or specialty store)
  • 2 beef stock cubes
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
  • 1 pound beef sirloin, cubed
  • 3 roma tomatoes, diced
  • 4 cups water
  • 2 bay leaves
  • salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • Heat a stockpot on medium-high heat. Add oil and heat until hot but not smoking.
  • Add the sliced onions and fry for 10-15 minutes or until the onions start to turn golden brown (be careful not to burn).
  • Add the garlic, ginger, serrano pepper, and cook for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
  • Add the cubed beef, pilau masala, beef stock cubes, bay leaves, cilantro, and salt to taste. Cook until the meat browns and caramelizes, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.
  • Add the diced tomatoes and cook for 4-5 minutes, until the tomatoes have released their liquid.
  • Stir in the potatoes and the water. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.
  • Stir in the rice, and cover tightly with foil (to keep the steam in). Reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes, until the rice is cooked and the liquid is absorbed.
  • Once the rice is dry, remove the foil and fluff with a fork to ensure the seasonings are well distributed throughout the rice.

Notes

You can substitute chicken and chicken stock for the beef and beef stock cubes. You can substitute beef stock for the water and cubes. This dish is great as leftovers -- making ahead and reheating will only increase the flavor.
Keyword beef, dinner, flavorful, kenya, pilau, rice, savory, traditional
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Ka wula (hello), my name is Monica

  • location

    Ghana

  • 17 yrs. old

    01-01-2008

Entered the program: May 2023

Monica lives with her mother and sister in a two-bedroom mud house roofed with sheet-metal. The community has electricity but no potable water. They must walk long distances to find water sources. Access to health care in the community is very poor; they have one clinic but no medication to offer. There is one primary and middle school but it has no furniture for the students. The main occupation is farming but many people in the community are unemployed and live on less than 1 dollar a day.

Monica comes from a Christian family. Her father died when she was very young and she never knew him. Her mother works as a small-hold farmer to prvide food for the family; she cultivates groundnuts but hardly harvests enough to take care of them. The family usually has two small meals a day, but sometimes they go a whole day without food. Providing funds for Monica and her sister to go to school is difficult without the support of Create Hope; additionally, the inability to afford sanitary supplies also keeps them home from school often.

Sponsorship Level What's this?

Three $38 sponsorships are needed to cover the complete holistic care of one child. Cover one, two, or three sponsorships.