Bariis

I swear we don't eat cake for dinner. My latest baking fascination might've given you the impression that that's all we've been eating :D. I haven't been able to try anything new except with cakes/cookies. I managed to experiment with bariis (rice) and leave my white rice comfort zone. I used the spices that I like (and not necessarily the spices normally used for bariis) and kept trying until I liked it! I've always felt that the normal Somali bariis has too many spices for my liking and usually kick starts one of my tension headaches. So I tried to balance it out by using ingredients that I don't normally use, with my usual favourite.

Here's what I came up with :

Here's what you'll need:

3 cups of basmati rice
1 large tomato, or 2 smaller ones
1 onion, chopped
3 minced garlic cloves
handful of parsley
2 bouillon cubes (chicken stock cube)
5-6 cups of water
1 tablespoon of xawaaji (a Somali spice)
2 cinnamon sticks
1/4 cup of vegetable oil

Steps:

1. Preheat your oven to about 350 degrees. Sautee your diced tomato and onions until golden brown, in 1/4 cup of vegetable oil.
2. When onions are golden brown, add your minced garlic, parsley, and your xawaaji. Mix well... keep heat on medium low to avoid burning your ingredients. Add your 2 cinnamon sticks after this step.
3. Add your bouillon cubes and allow them to melt, stir well.
4. Bring to a boil, and add your 3 cups of basmati rice.
5. Leave heat on medium-high and stir the rice well. Leave on stove for about 5 minutes, then transfer to your preheated oven. It should be ready in about 25 minutes depending on your oven, or until rice tastes ready.

Enjoy :)