Caribbean Recipes – Moksi-Alesi
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Feb. 5, 2021: This week we feature a unique recipe that is popular in the Dutch Caribbean nation of Suriname. It is Moksi-Alesi, and here's how to make it according to Denis Cardenas, owner at El Jalapeno. Filed in the book's Indian section, but the dish is from Suriname.
Ingredients
| 1 cup | long grain rice |
| 1 | onion, chopped |
| 2 | garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced |
| 200 grams | salted meat – beef or pork, and/or chicken breast |
| 1 | small tomato, chopped |
| 1 tbsp | black pepper |
| 1 pinch | nutmeg |
| 1 | fresh hot pepper |
| 1 tbsp | tomato paste or ketchup |
| 1/2 to 1 packet | masoesa or passion food powder |
| — | pointed cabbage, sliced (optional) |
| 3-4 | Maggi cubes or chicken stock cubes |
| a few tablespoons | oil |
| 1 tbsp | butter |
| 1 can | coconut milk (optional) |
Instructions
- Wash and cut the chicken breast into bite sized pieces.
- Wash the rice in a colander and drain.
- Boil the salted meat in some water until tender (approx. half an hour), or pressure cook it in a pressure cooker for about 15 minutes.
- Remove the salted meat and cut into bite sized pieces.
- Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large non-stick skillet.
- Add the onion and garlic and let it cook.
- Add the tomatoes, the tomato paste, nutmeg and the black pepper.
- Then add the salt meat and the small chicken pieces and fry everything together until brown.
- Add some water and the Maggi or chicken stock cubes.
- If you use coconut milk, add it now.
- Let it come to a boil, add the washed rice with the masoesa and stir everything well.
- Add enough water to just a little finger joint above the rice.
- Taste for salt. Add some stock powder or chicken stock powder if necessary.
- Add the fresh hot pepper and let it steam on top of the dish. Make sure it doesn't open.
- Let it cook with the lid closed on low heat. Stir occasionally with a fork to prevent it from sticking.
- Cut the pointed cabbage into small strips. Fry it very briefly in butter or oil.
- When the moksi alesi is cooked, stir in the pointed cabbage, keeping it crisp.
- Add some extra salt if necessary.
- Serve with fried ripe plantains.