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Benachin

A Gambian rice dish with meat, vegetables, and spices cooked in broth.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 16 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Benachin

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the base

  1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot or saucepan over medium heat.

  2. Add the chopped onions and minced garlic. Sauté until they become translucent and fragrant.

  3. Add the chicken, beef, or fish to the pot and cook until browned on all sides. Stir occasionally to ensure even cooking.

  4. Stir in the tomato paste, paprika, thyme, and curry powder. Cook for a few minutes to enhance the flavors.

  5. Add the diced bell peppers, carrot, and other chopped vegetables of your choice. Stir well to combine.

Add the rice and liquid

  1. Rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs clear. Drain the excess water.

  2. Add the rice to the pot and stir until it is well-coated with the vegetable and meat mixture.

  3. Pour in the chicken or vegetable broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Avoid stirring the rice during this time to prevent it from becoming mushy.

Finish and serve

  1. Once the rice is cooked, gently fluff it with a fork.

  2. Taste the benachin and season with salt and pepper according to your preference.

  3. Serve hot as a main course or as a side dish alongside grilled meat or fish.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1359Calories
93 gProtein
62 gFat
106 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 18 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Salmon100g cooked208
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Chicken100g cooked165
Vegetable1 tbsp (14g)120
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Corn1/2 cup kernels (82g)77
Pea1/2 cup (72g)62
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Turmeric1 tsp ground (3g)9
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

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 Wikibooks Cookbook.

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. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Clove + thymetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,108 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  3. Thyme + carrottop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,563 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  4. Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Thyme + peppertop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,585 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

What each ingredient does

Long-grain rice
Forms the bulk of the dish and absorbs the broth as it cooks.
Chicken or vegetable broth
Cooks the rice and carries the spices through the whole dish.
Tomato paste
Adds concentrated savory depth and a little acidity to the base.
Onion
Builds sweetness and aroma as it softens and browns in the oil.
Chicken, beef, or fish
Provides the main protein and savory flavor that the rice absorbs.

The step that matters

Avoid stirring the rice after the broth boils. Stirring releases starch from the grains, which makes the rice gummy and mushy. Letting it cook undisturbed keeps the grains separate and fluffy.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, garlic, chicken, tomato, thyme, pepper, carrot):

  1. Cuminfits better
  2. Parsleyfits better
  3. Marjoramfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, garlic, chicken, tomato, thyme, pepper, carrot. 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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