It’s Christmas day and you are probably worried about what special recipe to make. Usually in Nigeria, people prepare rice and stew, jollof rice, and fried rice. Sometimes, people also opt for local delicacies like goat meat pepper soup, and Egusi soup and pounded yam on Christmas day

But guess what? if you are a lover of rice, you can enjoy your Christmas day celebration with these three amazing rice recipes below

Caribbean Rice

Caribbean rice is neither jollof rice nor fried rice. When you discover how to seamlessly combine beautiful fruits, meats, natural condiments, and rice together, you will end up with this delicious recipe that tastes so different from other rice meals.

Ingredients

• 400g Beef Cubes
• 3 Cups of rice
• 2kg Chicken
• 1 Cup of sliced green pepper
• 1 Cup of sliced red bell pepper (optional)
• A Cup of carrot (sliced)
• 1 Cup of sliced onions
• 3 Seasoning cubes
• Salt and pepper to test
• 1 Sachet of chicken seasoning
• 150ml Of vegetable oil

Directions

• Parboil the beef cubes in a small pot with a pinch of salt.
• Add one cup of water and allow to cook until they are very soft. Separate the beef from the stock. Once well cooked, set aside both the stock and beef.
• Slice the carrot, green pepper, onions, and beef (if that is not done already).
•  Pour boiled water on 3 cups of rice, allow to sit for 3 minutes, wash and cook until it is 75 percent done. Don’t overcook it, or the food wouldn’t turn out well.
• Set your cooking pot on heat and add 100ml of vegetable oil. Allow to heat for a minute before adding the beef cubes. Fry the beef cubes for 3-5 minutes until it darkens. Remove the beef cubes and pour in the remaining sliced onions. Stir, add the sliced green pepper, red bell pepper, and carrot.
• Add the chicken/beef stock, a teaspoon of salt, and a teaspoon of ground (pepper). Stir all together. Allow a minute, then transfer the coloured rice.
• Turn evenly, taste for salt. Once the taste is good enough, add the fried meat
• Turn evenly, cover your pot and allow simmering on low heat for 3-5 minutes.

Serve your Caribbean rice with fried or grilled chicken.

2. Shrimp Fried Rice

This meal is basically making fried rice with shrimps instead of using chicken, beef, or other types of protein.

Shrimp fried rice is not your everyday delicacy, the taste is different so much you can’t get enough of it. Bear in mind that the process of making this delicacy is totally different from your everyday fried rice.

Below are the ingredients and step by step process you need to prepare this delicacy.

Ingredients:

— 4 cups of long-grain rice

— Vegetable Oil

— 3 Cups chicken/beef stock

— 200gms Peeled shrimps/ prawns

 

— Raw chicken/beef (Optional)

— Diced carrots

— 1 Cup of green peas

— Sweet corn

— 1 Big red bell pepper

— 3 Stalks green/spring onion (thinly sliced)

— 1 Medium bulb onion(diced)

— 3 cloves of Garlic

— 2 Scotch bonnet (thinly sliced)

— 3 Seasoning cube

— 1 Chicken seasoning/spice

— Garlic powder

— Black pepper

— Curry powder

— Thyme

— Salt to taste

Preparation

• Marinate your Shrimps with Garlic powder, Black pepper, and Chicken seasoning. Leave to marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Wash your Rice thoroughly to rid it of starch, leave it to drain in a colander.
• Place a pot on a hob on medium heat, add half a cup of Vegetable Oil, when the oil gets hot, add the washed rice gradually.
• Add the Curry and Thyme. Fry the Rice in the oil for 3-5 minutes, stir with a wooden spoon from time to time.
• Then pour the Chicken/ Beef stock, add water as well, but use more stock, make sure the liquid is enough to cook the Rice till tender. Add two Chicken Cubes and salt to taste. Leave to cook till tender.
• Get a deep frying pan, add three tablespoons of Vegetable oil, and crush in one seasoning cube. When the oil becomes hot, add the chopped Onions, sauté for 2 minutes, then add the chopped Garlic.
• Now add the raw Shrimps, cook for 3-4 minutes, be careful not to overcook.
• When the shrimps are cooked, remove the shrimps and set aside.
• Add the carrots, green peas, and peppers into the frying pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes,
• Add the cooked Shrimps and sauté for 3 minutes.
• Now check on the rice, if it’s tender, it shouldn’t be too soft as this will be cooked further. Divide the Rice into two parts.
  
• Also, divide the cooked veggies into two, add one part of the rice and one part of the Veggies into the frying pan, taste for seasoning, adjust if necessary, and combine.
• Decrease the heat to low, add the Green Onions. Fry for a further 3-4 minutes to fully combine. Add the cooked Shrimps back in and combine with the Rice.
• Repeat the same for the second batch and your Shrimp Fried Rice is ready.

Also read:
– 5 Best Christmas Films To Binge-watch On Netflix This Season
– Six Countries That Once Banned Christmas (No. 6 Will Surprise You)
– Five Christmas Sci-Fi Movies You Should See This Holiday Season

3. Veggie Chicken Gravy

This is a Nigerian recipe that is delicious and also quick and easy to prepare. This meal is a fusion of chicken stock and vegetables. Because chicken stock is quite watery, it requires the use of cornflour as a thickener to improve the consistency.

Veggie chicken gravy is commonly served at parties to go with fried or boiled rice though it goes pretty well with pasta. Below are the ingredients needed and the step-by-step process in preparing this meal.

Ingredients

• 6-8 Pieces of chicken
• 2 Cups of sliced vegetables ( preferably carrots, green beans, red and green pepper and cabbage)
• 3 Spring onions (sliced)
• 1 Chopped onion
• Cornflour
• 3 Garlic cloves
• 1 Tablespoon of ginger
• 3 Seasoning cubes
• 1 Tablespoon of curry powder
• 1 teaspoon of thyme
• 3 Chicken seasoning
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

• First, clean the chicken thoroughly, then season with 1/2 teaspoon Curry and Thyme, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon of minced ginger, 1/2 of the chicken seasoning, and salt to taste. Leave to marinate for at least an hour.
• Also, season the vegetables with 1 seasoning cube, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/5 teaspoon of curry, leave to marinate for 30 minutes.
• After marinating, place the chicken in a big pot, add water to cover, and allow it to boil.
• While it is boiling, get yourself a frying pan. Add 1/2 cooking spoon vegetable oil, place on a hob on medium heat, when it heats up, add the garlic and onions, sauté till fragrant. Now add the marinated vegetables, sauté for 3-4 minutes, then set aside. Mix the cornflour with half a cup of water, mix till smooth.

• Check on the chicken, when it’s soft, remove it from the stock and set aside, then add the veggies into the stock and combine. Taste for salt and seasoning, adjust if necessary.
• Next, pour in the cornflour. This will thicken the Gravy. Don’t add it all at once, add intermittently, so you can control the thickness. Stir and combine, then add the chicken back into the gravy.
• Combine, then switch the heat off and allow it to simmer for 3 minutes with the residual heat, and it’s ready.
• Serve with boiled rice or pasta.

Merry Christmas to our amazing readers all over the world.

 

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