Name: Chicken Pelau With Pigeon Peas
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 cup dry or 1 (12-ounce) can pigeon peas, pinto beans, or black-eyed peas; 2 cups long-grain rice; 3 tablespoons canola oil; 3/4 cup sugar (white or brown); 1 (3-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces, skin removed; 1 small onion, chopped; 1 clove garlic, finely chopped; 1 cup coconut milk; 1 bay leaf; 2 teaspoons Green Seasoning; 1/2 cup chopped parsley; 1 sprig thyme; 2 carrots, peeled and chopped; 5 scallions, chopped (white and green parts); Kosher salt; 2 cups cubed fresh calabaza or butternut squash; 1 small whole Scotch bonnet pepper; 1/2 cup ketchup; 1 tablespoon butter

Photo of pelau in a dutch oven with a wooden spoon.

Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Erika Joyce

Pelau is one of those dishes that really exemplifies Trinidadian cuisine because it is an admixture of various cooking styles. Pelau, or rice cooked with meats and vegetables, is a variation of East Indian pilau, which originated in Persia where it is called polow. The Anglicized version of the dish is called pilaf. The process of browning the meat in sugar for pelau is an African tradition and ketchup is a New World addition to the dish, although I suspect it has its basis in tomato chutneys available in British India and likely brought to Trinidad by the English.

Recipe notes

See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips

53 Ways to Turn a Bag of Rice Into Dinner
This pantry staple is the key to a delicious dinner.
89 Winning Winter Squash Recipes
Butternut, acorn, delicata, pumpkin, and more: the gang's all here.
11 Recipes That Feel Like Diving Head-First Into Autumn
It's time to start deploying the pumpkins.
5 Trinidadian Recipes for Weeknight Cooking From Ramin Ganeshram
The cookbook author, historian, and novelist walks us through her favorite Caribbean dinners, including her father’s take on weeknight curry chicken and her favorite spicy pumpkin soup.

Rotisserie Chicken Congee

Leftover rotisserie chicken finds new purpose in this endlessly comforting dish.

Southern Thai Fried Chicken (Gai Tod Hat Yai)

This is one of the best fried chickens ever. From southern Thailand, gai hat yai is known for its crispy skin, great aromatics, and super juicy meat.

Green Curry Mussels

The mussels here add their beautiful, briny juices into the curry, which turn this into a stunning and spectacular dish.

Frijoles de la Olla Ramen (Mexican Stewed Beans)

Traditionally, this Mexican staple is simmered for hours in an olla, or clay pot. You can achieve a similar result by using canned beans and instant ramen.

Charred Vegetable Ragù

This sauce is slightly magical. The texture cloaks pasta much like a traditional meat sauce does, and the flavors are deep and rich, but it’s actually vegan!

Zucchini, Pea, and Bulgur Pilaf

This fragrant salad uses bulgur wheat as its base, an endlessly versatile, slightly chewy grain that’s very popular throughout the eastern Mediterranean.

Gigante Beans With Seaweed Salmoriglio

Salmoriglio is a Mediterranean sauce with herbs, garlic, and olive oil. In this version, kelp is used as the base of the sauce.

Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Spaghetti)

Spaghetti is a common variation in modern Thai cooking. It’s so easy to work with and absorbs the garlicky, spicy notes of pad kee mao well.

Recipe notes

53 Ways to Turn a Bag of Rice Into Dinner

89 Winning Winter Squash Recipes

11 Recipes That Feel Like Diving Head-First Into Autumn

5 Trinidadian Recipes for Weeknight Cooking From Ramin Ganeshram