Fruit & Nut "Pilaf"

Whenever my mom would make a flavored rice dish to go along with dinner she would call it a "pilaf, " and this got me to wondering what the origins of the word "pilaf" were. According to Wikipedia, Pilaf is borrowed directly from Turkish but that all these terms (poloپلو , polao, pilau, pilav, pilaff, plov, pilafi or pulao) ultimately derive from classical Persian. Check out this link for more on that.

So, this is a simple rice dish that can be served along side fish or chicken. It's versatile and the rice can be cooked in chicken, vegetable broth, or just plain, salted water. After the rice is cooked, I stir in some fried fruits, nuts, vegetables, whatever I think will go well with what I am serving. This time I was making some baked salmon which I had flavored with onion, garlic, and parsley and potatoes that were roasted with the same flavors. I simply used McCormick's California Style Onion Powder & McCormick's Salt Free Garlic & Herb. I got the idea for the rice from a dinner I had at TGIFriday's which had a Mexican style Chicken breast served along side "slow-cooked coconut jasmine rice with diced pineapple, onion, red pepper, cilantro and green onion." Here's how I made the rice...

• 1 cup Jasmine rice, rinsed, soaked, cooked (in any broth you desire) and cooled
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup nuts (cashews, pistachio's)
• 1/2 cup raisins (golden)
• salt, to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped, fresh pineapple
• 1/4 cup dried coconut
• 2 - 3 tablespoons clarified butter or butter

Heat the butter in a large frying pan and fry the onion until translucent. Add the nuts and raisins and coconut and fry until golden. Add the pineapple and rice and heat through.

~ Where life is colorful and varied, religion can be austere or unimportant... Where life is appallingly monotonous, religion must be emotional, dramatic and intense... Without the curry, boiled rice can be very dull. - C. Northcote Parkinson ~