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Tchari

A West African rice dish cooked with tomatoes, peppers, spices, and broth.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 19 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,686 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Tchari

Time20–25 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sauce

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

  2. Add the chopped onions and sauté until translucent.

  3. Add the minced garlic and grated ginger to the pot and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant.

  4. Stir in the blended tomatoes, red and green bell peppers, and blended Scotch bonnet peppers.

  5. Cook the mixture for 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the oil starts to separate.

  6. Add the thyme, curry powder, paprika, ground nutmeg, and bay leaf to the sauce.

  7. Stir well to ensure the spices are evenly distributed.

Cook the rice

  1. Rinse the rice thoroughly in cold water until the water runs clear.

  2. Drain the excess water.

  3. Add the rice to the pot with the sauce, stirring gently to coat the rice.

  4. Pour in the chicken or vegetable broth (or water) into the pot.

  5. The liquid level should be about 1 inch above the rice.

  6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  7. Bring the mixture to a boil.

  8. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot with the lid, ensuring it is tightly sealed to trap steam inside.

  9. Let the rice simmer for about 20–25 minutes or until the rice is tender and fully cooked.

  10. Avoid opening the lid too frequently, as this may interfere with the cooking process.

  11. If the liquid is absorbed before the rice is fully cooked, add a little more water or broth as needed.

Finish and serve

  1. Once the rice is cooked, add the frozen mixed vegetables to the pot and stir them gently into the rice.

  2. Optionally, add a tablespoon of butter for extra richness and stir it into the rice until it melts.

  3. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit, covered, for a few minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

  4. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve hot, garnished with fresh herbs if desired.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1033Calories
48 gProtein
47 gFat
111 gCarbs

Counts 22 of 24 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 22 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Chicken100g cooked165
Vegetable1 tbsp (14g)120
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
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
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Turmeric1 tsp ground (3g)9
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Scotchnot in our table0
Waternot 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 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. Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,686 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

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

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

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

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

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

What each ingredient does

Long-grain parboiled rice
Forms the bulk of the dish and absorbs the sauce and broth as it cooks.
Tomatoes
Provide the base of the sauce, adding acidity, moisture and body when cooked down.
Onion
Builds sweetness and savoury depth as it softens in the oil.
Bell peppers
Add sweetness and body to the sauce, balancing the heat of the chilies.
Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers
Provide the main heat and a fruity aroma to the sauce.
Chicken or vegetable broth
Supplies the liquid that cooks the rice and carries flavour into every grain.

The step that matters

Cook the sauce until it thickens and the oil separates. Reducing the blended tomato and pepper base concentrates its flavour and removes excess water. A thin sauce left in the pot makes the rice soggy and dilutes the colour and taste of the dish.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (clove, garlic, ginger, tomato, pepper, thyme, nutmeg):

  1. Carrotfits better
  2. Eggplantfits better
  3. Capsicumfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against clove, garlic, ginger, tomato, pepper, thyme, nutmeg. 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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