GastronomicGallivant: Haitian Mango Juice, Red Beans Rice With Hot Sauce

My knowledge of Haitian cuisine is very minimal. From what I understood, I can tell that they have a little Spanish and a lot of French influence since Haiti was controlled by both these countries, among others, at different periods of time.After scouring the net for various Haitian recipes I decided to make Riz et Pois Rouges(Red Beans and Rice) and their Mango juice,my way ofcourse.Haitians normally eat their rice with a super spicy sauce called "Ti Malice(Tih Mah-liss)" that is made with tomatoes and Hot cherry peppers/Jalepenos. Love the name of that sauce, don't you? A very malicious sauce that will make you pay the following morning for indulging it. Get my drift? Lol. Well, I didn't get time to make it. So my rice is smothered with bottled hot sauce.
This makes its way to Joanne's Haiti Themed Regional Recipes Event and Legume Love Affair held @ Ruchika Cooks,brainchild of Susan, the well seasoned cook.

Ingredients:
For the Mango Juice:

• Frozen/Fresh Ripe Mango Chunks - 1 cup Or Sweetened Mango Pulp - 3/4 cup
• Fresh/Carton Orange Juice - 1 cup
• Carrot - 1, skinned and pressure cooked
• Sugar - 1 tsp(optional)
• Ice cubes - As needed

Procedure:

• Puree all the above ingredients and consume immediately.

For the Red Beans and Rice:

• Uncooked Basmati Rice - 1 cup
• Red Beans - 1 cup, pressure cooked with salt
• Clove - 2
• Cinnamon Stick - 1
• Onion - 1, small, diced
• Garlic - 2 cloves
• Green Squash - 1, diced (ham might be substituted instead)
• Cracked Pepper and Crushed Red pepper flakes - for taste
• Salt as needed
• Olive Oil - 2 tbsp

Procedure:

• Clean the rice and soak it for 20 minutes in water.
• In a deep saute pan, add the olive oil, garlic, clove, cinnamon stick and onions.Saute until the onions are translucent.
• Drain the rice completely of water and add it to the pan. Fry until the rice is coated with oil.
• Add the diced green squash and then sprinkle salt, pepper, pepper flakes and pour 21/2 cups of water.
• Cook the rice for 7-8 minutes on low flame.
• Add the cooked red beans and stir to incorporate.
• Cook for 5 more minutes and sprinkle water if necessary.
• Serve the hot rice with a little hot sauce or authentic made-from-scratch "Ti-Malice"

Makes 3 servings.

Note:

• Be mindful of the salt as the Red beans is cooked with salt too.

Enjoy!