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Pilau Rice with Beef Stew

A Kenyan dish of beef stew served with pilau rice, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, onions, and spices.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and coriander are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,967 recipes. Both carry trans-2-decenal, which smells waxy, orange. The science ↓

Pilau Rice with Beef Stew

Ingredients

Directions

Make the stew base

  1. Fry the chopped onions until they turn brown.

  2. Add tomatoes and chopped green pepper.

  3. Add carrots, black pepper and coriander.

  4. Wash the cut meat and sprinkle it with seasoning salt.

  5. When the carrots have become slightly soft, add the cut meat.

  6. When the meat is almost cooked, add some curry powder and salt to taste.

Cook the pilau

  1. Wash the rice with cold water.

  2. Boil the peas until cooked.

  3. Chop the onions and then fry them until they turn slightly brown.

  4. Then add tomatoes that have been peeled and cut.

  5. Boil some of the rice water with the pilau masala until it boils.

  6. Add some salt to taste.

  7. Add the rest of the water to the fried onions and tomatoes.

  8. Then add the green peas when the water starts boiling and the rice.

  9. Then let it cook.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

481Calories
30 gProtein
29 gFat
25 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 12 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Turmeric1 tsp ground (3g)9
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Stewnot in our table0
Meatnot in our table0
Coriandernot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Tomato + coriandertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  2. Carrot + coriandertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,297 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  3. Pepper + coriandertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,949 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  4. Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,555 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Carrot + tomatotop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,606 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cut beef
Provides the main protein, which becomes tender and flavourful as it simmers in the stew.
Onions
Browning them builds a sweet, savoury base for the whole dish.
Tomatoes
Add moisture and acidity that help form the sauce around the rice.
Carrots
Add sweetness and soften during cooking, adding body to the stew.
Green peppers
Add a fresh, slightly bitter note and some texture to the stew.

The step that matters

Fry the onions until brown. Onions that are browned slowly develop deeper sweetness through caramelisation, while burnt onions turn bitter and can spoil the whole dish. Browning them gently gives the base its flavour.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, meat, carrot, pepper, tomato, coriander):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Potatofits better
  3. Spinachfits about as well
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, meat, carrot, pepper, tomato, coriander. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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