Wash and soak the beans for about 5 hours. Discard the water and rinse the beans.

Put the beans in a pot, pour some water and set to boil.

Once the beans start boiling, turn off the heat, throw away the water and wash again. These steps will help minimize the indigestion associated with beans for most people.

Prepare the tomato stew.

Parboil the rice by cooking it half cooked. Rinse the parboiled rice and put in a sieve to drain.

Meanwhile, cook the chicken till tender with the chopped onions, thyme and stock cubes. If you will rather use fish, boil the fish for 5 minutes using the same amount of seasoning. Fry or grill the chicken or the fish and set aside.

Cook the beans till tender and set aside.

Pour the chicken/fish stock into a pot big enough to accommodate the rice and beans, bearing in mind that the rice will rise some more.

Add the tomato stew, the parboiled rice and the cooked beans. Check that the water level is just less than the level of the rice and beans.

Add pepper and salt to taste.

Stir, cover the pot and cook at low to medium heat till the water is dry.

Serve with the fried chicken or fish and fried plantain.