Jamalaya

I remember this song from the late 60’s called Jambalaya … its been buzzing in my head for the past couple of days ! As Tandy has given the Cacun chanllenge this week..   it made sense to find out what is in this Jambalaya dish. I have gotten down and read a couple of blogs and realized that it is actually just a Paella made with Cajun spices ( more or less JJ)

So here goes:

A Jambalaya can really be made with whatever veggies you have in the kitchen. The basics however are chicken, spicy sausage, prawns, peppers, chilli, Cajun spice and rice. It is one of those dishes where everyone down in New Orleans has their own secret ingredient, as long as its spice hot ! I don’t really like very hot food and always have to have bottles of the hot stuff extra on the table for those who like to loose any sort of feeling in their mouths !

Olive Oil 1 Onion ½ of green, red & yellow pepper ½ English cucumber ½ packet sliced celery 2 handful Basmati rice 1 garlic clove 1 Chorizo sausage 1 large skinless chicken breast About 12 frozen Woolies prawns 2 Tbsp Nomu Cajun powder mix 1 Tbsp Turmeric ( I used generic Saffron from Seychelles) 500 ml Nomu chicken stock

I used my wok for making this dish. First fry onion and garlic until “glassy”, Add the other veggies Add the spices, chicken and chorizo sausage. Cook until just starting to be soft. Add the chicken stock Add the rice and close the lid and turn down heat. Cook until nearly all the liquid has been absorbed into the rice and then add the prawns. Voila ! all done

Result: I found using the Nomu Cajun spice a bitjie too hot for my taste and would rather make my own mix next time.