Basmati coconut rice (the Calabar variety)

So, I live in Lagos and to be honest with you I have ordered coconut rice here a number of times, only to be highly disappointed. It seems somewhere along the way the lines between coconut rice and jelloff rice were erased. Take this as an example. I’m hosting an event for my day job and there were two options of rice on the menu; jelloff and coconut. So, since you hardly find coconut rice on any menu, I opted for that. When I got the plate I sent it back. Not for anything but on sight, it looked like jelloff rice to me. If not for the insistence of the server I would have just gone to hunt for the rice at the food stand myself. Now when I tasted it, I could barely taste the coconut flavour. Disappointed, and now craving real coconut rice, I decided to make my own over the weekend. To put my own twist on one of my favourite dishes, I made this with Basmati rice instead of your regular long-grain and smoked chicken for added flavour. Also, I didn’t want to spend my entire Sunday standing at the stove, so I made this in 1.5 hours including prep time. Gotta love innovation! I do, however, promise to do a repeat and add in all the bells and whistles (just like my mama used to).