Dirty rice

Dirty rice is a traditional Louisiana Creole dish made from white rice which gets a "dirty" color from being cooked with small pieces of pork, beef or chicken, green bell pepper, celery, and onion, and spiced with cayenne and black pepper. Parsley and chopped green onions are common garnishes. Dirty rice is most common in the Creole regions of southern Louisiana; however, it can also be found in other areas of the American South and referenced as "chicken and rice," "Cajun rice," or "rice dressing". The earliest versions of this dish trace back to the Antebellum era of southern Louisiana in the late 1700s, and fall under the category of soul food. During this period, the individuals working the slave trade brought crops from Africa, and captives with the knowledge to cultivate them in the colonies. These crops included sweet potatoes, okra, peanuts, kidney beans, lima beans, watermelon, and rice. Captive farmers from the coast of West Africa, who included rice in many aspects of their diets, were brought to Louisiana as enslaved people for their ability to cultivate the crop in the marshes and bayous. As a result, rice plantations became large and profitable institution's for Louisiana land owners. The plentiful nature of rice made it a inexpensive commodity allotted to enslaved people. Along with corn, beans, sorghum, succotash, and greens; rice was one of the limited foods enslaved people were allowed to eat on the plantation. Enslaved peoples were also given the "undesirable" cuts of the meat which would otherwise be thrown away by plantation owners. This generally included intestines, neck, feet, head, ears, ribcage, tail, and tongue of the hogs, cow, and chickens. Through these options, enslaved people adapted to create meals to feed themselves and their families.

Source: Wikipedia