COUNTRY:                           SURINAME

DISH:                                     MOKSI ALESI

CONTRIBUTED BY:            Denis Cardenas, Owner at El Jalapeno

 

Their cuisine is very rich and extensive, due to the colonial history of Suriname and population coming from regions like East India, Africa, Java (Indonesia), China, Portugal and the Netherlands. But also the Amerindians or indigenous and Jews contributed to the richness of the Surinamese dishes.

Ingredients

amount of rice according to the number of persons (500 grams)

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

200 grams of salt meat and / or chicken fillet

small tomato

black pepper

pinch of nutmeg

1 fresh Surinamese pepper

1 tbsp. tomato paste or ketchup

1/2 to 1 packet of masoesa

some sliced ​​pointed cabbage (optional)

3-4 Maggi cubes or chicken stock cubes

a few tablespoons of oil

butter

can of coconut milk (optional)

 

Method

  1. Wash the rice in a colander and drain.
  2. Boil the salt meat in some water until soft (approx. half an hour).
  3. Cut the chicken fillet and the salt meat into pieces.
  4. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large pan (the rice will expand) and fry the onion and garlic in it.
  5. Add the tomato pieces, the tomato paste, nutmeg and the black pepper.
  6. Then add the salt meat and the small chicken pieces and fry everything until brown.
  7. Add some water and the Maggi or chicken stock cubes.
  8. If you use coconut milk, add it now.
  9. Let it come to a boil, add the washed rice with the masoesa and stir everything well.
  10. Add enough water to just a little finger joint above the rice.
  11. Taste for salt. Add some stock powder (Aromat or chicken stock powder) if necessary.
  12. Add the fresh Surinamese pepper and let it stew on top of the dish. Make sure it doesn’t open, it’s about the aroma.
  13. Let it cook with the lid closed. Stir occasionally to prevent it from sticking. (It is best to use a large non-stick skillet.
  14. Cut the pointed cabbage into small strips. Fry it very briefly in butter or oil.
  15. When moksi alesi is cooked, stir in the pointed cabbage, keep it crisp.
  16. Add some extra salt if necessary.
  17. Add sour goods and fried ripe plantains.