AI-generated image
Diri djon djon
Northern Haiti's black mushroom rice, coloured and perfumed by soaked dried djon djon, with peas and a whole scotch bonnet
Diri djon djon comes from northern Haiti, around Cap-Haïtien, where the tiny black djon djon mushrooms are gathered and dried. Soaked in hot water, they give an inky liquid that turns rice a striking grey-black and makes it taste deeply earthy and savoury. It's the rice for weddings, baptisms and big Sunday lunches, cooked with epis, cloves and green peas or butter beans, a whole scotch bonnet laid on top for perfume. Dried djon djon is sold in Haitian and Caribbean shops and online. Chef's tip: avoid djon djon stock cubes, which are often made with chicken fat and add little real flavour; use the dried mushrooms, and add a few dried shiitake for even more depth.
- Total time
- 70 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the mushroom liquid
For the rice
To finish
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Rinse 1 oz dried djon djon mushrooms quickly in a sieve to wash off grit. Put it with ½ oz dried shiitake mushrooms in a bowl, pour over 3 ¾ cups boiling water and leave for 30 minutes, until the liquid is black and smells of forest floor.
30 minStep 2: Strain the liquid through a sieve lined with kitchen paper into a jug, pressing the mushrooms hard. You need about 750 ml; top up with water if short. Chop the soaked shiitake and keep them; discard the djon djon, which are tough.
3 minStep 3: Heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil in a heavy pot over a medium heat. Fry 3 tbsp epis (Haitian seasoning base), 3 whole cloves and 3 sprigs fresh thyme for 2 minutes, until the epis smells sweet and the oil turns green.
2 minStep 4: Add 14 oz long-grain rice and the chopped shiitake and stir for 2 minutes, until every grain is shiny with oil.
2 minStep 5: Pour in the mushroom liquid, add 5 ½ oz frozen peas or butter beans and 1 ½ tsp salt, and bring to the boil over a high heat. Lay 1 scotch bonnet pepper on top. Boil uncovered until the liquid sinks below the surface of the rice and small holes appear, about 8 minutes.
8 minStep 6: Cover tightly, turn the heat to low and cook for 18–20 minutes, until the rice is tender and has soaked up all the liquid. A common mistake is bursting the scotch bonnet when you stir; keep it whole and lift it out gently, or the rice becomes far too hot to eat.
20 minStep 7: Remove the pepper, thyme stalks and cloves. Stir through 1 tbsp vegan butter or olive oil if using, fluff with a fork and serve with legim, pikliz or a green salad.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 62 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does diri djon djon take?
- About 70 minutes in total: 35 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of dried djon djon mushrooms?
- Aubergine, diced, same weight.
- What can I use instead of whole cloves?
- Ground cloves, ¼ tsp for every 3 whole cloves.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Masala ugali
Ugali, East Africa's staple of maize meal cooked into a stiff porridge, given a lift with toasted cumin, butter, fresh coriander and green chilli. Stir it hard and keep it soft. Serve hot with sukumawiki or any stew.
Paneer biryani
A mild, creamy biryani: rice and husked green gram roasted in ghee, then cooked in coconut milk with peas, carrots, potatoes, peanuts and cashews, and finished with soft fried paneer and a fresh coriander yogurt. Serve hot, garnished with more fried cashews and paneer.
Plain cooked rice
Two reliable ways to cook plain rice. Method 1 lets the rice soak up all its water, for soft, fluffy rice to serve with curry and dal. Method 2 boils it in plenty of water and drains it, giving separate grains for fried rice, pilau and salads. Soaking first helps the grains cook evenly.
