pelau

{{Short description|Rice dish of the Caribbean}}{{Infobox food

| name = Pelau

| image = Trinidadian Chicken Pelau (15399269506).jpg

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| caption = Chicken pelau

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| country = West Indies

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| national_cuisine = Caribbean

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| type = Rice dish

| course = Main

| served = Hot

| main_ingredient = Rice

| minor_ingredient = Meat

| variations = Curry pelau

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Pelau is a traditional rice dish from the West Indies (Guadeloupe, Dominica and Caribbean countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Saint Lucia and the Virgin Islands. Its main ingredients typically include meat (usually chicken or beef),{{cite book |last=Ganeshram |first=Ramin |date=2012 |title=Sweet Hands. Island Cooking from Trinidad & Tobago |location=New York |publisher=Hippocrene Books |page=134 |isbn=978-0-7818-1125-5}} rice, pigeon peas or cowpeas, coconut milk{{Cite web |last=Ottier Hart |first=Rachael |date=2021-07-13 |title=The Ultimate Pelau Recipe |url=https://classicbakes.com/recipes/ultimate-pelau-recipe |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=ClassicBakes.com}} and sugar. Various vegetables and optional spices can be added. Common spices used in the dish are cardamom, cloves, cumin, and coriander.{{cite book | title=Dainty Dishes for Indian Tables ... | publisher=W. Newman & Company | year=1881 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zsSzhV_Ub90C&pg=PA159 | access-date=2017-08-09 | pages=159–161}} The meat is caramelised in brown sugar along with onion and garlic and the other ingredients are then added one by one, resulting in a dark brown stew.

An alternative preparation method is to sauté the meat, precook the rice, prepare the dish and bake it in the oven.{{cite book |date=2002 |title=The Multi-Cultural Cuisine of Trinidad & Tobago. Naparima Girls' High School Cookbook |location=San Fernando |publisher=Naparima Girls' High School |page=150 |isbn=976-8173-65-3}} Side dishes are optional; coleslaw is a typical one.

File:MISC Pelau.jpg

Pelau shares its origins with pilaf (from Persian pilāw {{lang|fa|پلاو}}), a rice dish from Central Asia, the Middle East, East Africa, South Asia, and Spain, with their original version of their dish, Paella. Pelau is a Creole dish. When the island was under Spanish colonial rule, Indian indentured servants passed down their version of the dish to African slaves who transformed it.https://www.guardian.co.tt/life/pelau-the-unofficial-national-dish-of-trinidad--tobago-6.2.653616.86e855f11f The caramelisation of the meat goes back to African preparation traditions.{{cite book |last=DeWitt |first=Dave and Wilan, Mary Jane |date=1993 |title=Callaloo, Calypso & Carnival. The Cuisines of Trinidad & Tobago |url=https://archive.org/details/callaloocalypsoc00dewi/page/60 |location=Freedom |publisher=Crossing Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/callaloocalypsoc00dewi/page/60 60] |isbn=0895946394 |url-access=registration }} Over the course of time, the basic method of preparing pilaf, the caramelisation of meat and influences of the Trinidadian cuisine (especially with regards to available ingredients) mingled into today's pelau.