Benachin

Instructions

1. 1 Season the chicken or beef with salt and one crushed Maggi cube. Heat the vegetable oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat and brown the meat on all sides until deeply coloured. Remove and set aside on a plate.
2. 2 In the same pot, fry the sliced onions for five minutes until golden. Add the tomato paste and cook for three minutes, stirring constantly until the paste darkens and the raw tomato flavour cooks out. Add the blended fresh tomatoes and cook for ten minutes.
3. 3 Return the browned meat to the pot and add three cups of water, the remaining Maggi cube, and the whole scotch bonnet peppers. Bring to a boil, then simmer for twenty minutes until the meat is partially cooked and the broth is richly flavoured.
4. 4 Arrange the vegetables in layers in the pot: sweet potatoes and carrots first (they need the most cooking), then pumpkin and eggplant, and finally the cabbage quarters on top. Do not stir, as the layers create the characteristic one-pot cooking effect.
5. 5 Add the rinsed rice by pouring it evenly over the layered vegetables. Pour in enough additional water to just cover the rice. Bring back to a boil over high heat, then reduce to the lowest possible setting and cover tightly.
6. 6 Cook without stirring or opening the lid for twenty-five minutes. The rice should absorb all the liquid and steam until perfectly cooked, with the bottom layer developing a smoky, slightly charred crust called the tahdig or bottom pot.
7. 7 Carefully uncover and check that the rice is cooked through. Arrange the dish on a large serving platter with the rice as the base, the vegetables arranged around it, and the meat pieces on top. Scrape up the prized crispy bottom and serve it alongside.