SPICED VEGEGETABLE PULAO

 

Rice is a staple in our diet. Perhaps a rice dish like biriyani, dal rice, or khichdi. I believe that rice is something that we cannot resist as Indians. Today I'm going to show you how to make vegetable pulao, which is a sort of rice. This isn't simply rice with cashews and ghee, though. It's a spiced one, after all. wooh! I prefer basmati rice for this pulao, but you may use other varieties of rice if you need to, but long lean rice is always preferable for pulao. It is somewhat spiced, but you can adjust the level of spice to suit your needs. There are no restrictions on that ;) So, before we start telling stories, let's start cooking our rice.

INGREDIENTS

For paste

Coriander leaves – ½ cup

Mint leaves – ¼ cup

Ginger – 1 inch

Garlic – 2 cloves

Green chilli – 2

Cardamom – 2 pods

Cinnamon – 1 inch

Cloves – 5

Fennel seeds – 1 tsp

Pepper cons – 3to 4

Water – ¼ cup (for grinding)

For rice

Ghee – 2 tbsp

Cumin – 1 tsp

Bay leaf – 1

Cinnamon – 1 inch

Cardamom – 2 pods

Cloves – 3

Pepper – ½ tsp

Cashew – 5

Onion – ½ sliced

Tomato – 1 finely chopped

Beans – 5 chopped

Green peas – 2 tbsp

Carrot – ½ chopped

Potato – ½ cubed

Basmati rice – 1 cup (soaked 25 mts)

Water – 2 cups (for the rice)

Salt to taste

 

PREPARATION

1.     To make the paste, combine all of the ingredients indicated above in a blender and blend well to form a thick paste. Now that your paste is ready, set it aside.

2.     The pan should be hot Toss in some ghee. Combine all of the spices indicated above and cook over low heat.

3.     Now add the cashews and cook till golden brown, then add the chopped onions.

4.     Once the raw onion smell has gone away, add all of the vegetables and cook well.

5.     Sauté the vegetables for a few minutes, then add the green paste and continue to sauté. It will now become aromatic.

6.     Keep the flame low while you're adding the paste. Now add 2 cups of water and season with salt to taste.

7.     It's time to add the rice. Toss in the soaking rice and stir well. and leave to cook for 20 minutes

8.     Adjust the cooker whistle to cook the rice if you're using a pressure cooker; the rice may cook evenly within a whistle.

 

The perfect accompaniment to this spicy pulao is raita. Cucumber raita with chilled curd and onions would be a savory treat for our taste buds. You can also eat it with meat, grilled chicken, and mild curries.