PULAO

Pulao has the goodness of vegetables as well as rice and is a universal favorite, being tasty and colorful. It is a very versatile item and extracts your imaginative juices. Pulao can adorn any table it is a must at every special lunch / dinner – when you have invited guests. It is also a one-dish-meal we can cook when we run short of time! 

This recipe is for the special pulao – when you take that extra bit of trouble. You can skip those extra garnishes to get the recipe for the quick pulao.

                                      

Serves 2

Ingredients

1. Basmati rice – 1 cup
2. Shelled peas – 2-3 tsbp
3. Beans – chopped – 1 tbsp
4. Carrot – diced – 2 tbsp
5. Capsicum – sliced – 2 tbsp
6. Potato – 1 medium sized – cut in 1 ½” long strips
7. Onion – 1 large – sliced thin
8. Green chilli – 2 chopped
9. Bread slices – 2 
10. Cinnamon – 1” piece
11. Cloves – 4
12. Peppercorns – 6-7
13. Bay leaf – 1
14. Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
15. Cashew nuts – 2 tbsp
16. Saffron strands (optional) – 8 strands (soaked in a tbsp of hot milk)
17. Ghee – 2 tbsp
18. Oil – 1 tbsp
19. Salt to taste
20. Coriander leaves (finely chopped) – 2 tbsp
21. Oil for frying potato strips and bread pieces

Method

1. Chop / slice the vegetables and keep them ready.
2. Wash the rice and keep it in a colander for 5-10 minutes.
3. Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a non-stick vessel and add cumin seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves and peppercorns.
4. Add the vegetables (except onions) and fry for 5 minutes. Set aside.
5. In the same vessel, add 1 tbsp oil (or ghee) and fry the rice for 5 minutes.
6. Mix the rice and vegetables and add the saffron and required salt.
7. Add 2 1/4 cups of water and heat on high flame till the water starts boiling.
8. Stir well, lower the flame and cook covered for 20-25 minutes, gently stirring after 10 minutes.
9. Check the rice after 20 minutes and again 5 minutes.
10. When the rice is cooked and dry, turn off the flame and leave it covered.
11. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadhai and fry cashewnuts till golden brown and set aside.
12. Heat oil in the same kadhai and make French fries with the potatoes – sprinkle salt and keep aside.
13. Then cut the bread slices into 1 cm squares and fry them in the same oil.
14. Finally in a tbsp of oil, fry the sliced onions with a pinch of salt (add chopped green chilli when onions are translucent) till the onions are brown and crisp.
15. Add all the fried bread, French fries and fried onions (keeping aside a little for garnishing) to the pulao and mix gently.
16. Garnish with remaining onions, cashew nuts and coriander leaves.
17. Serve hot with papad / raita / chana.

Tips

1. Those who are used to pressure cookers can pressure-cook the fried vegetables and rice mixture with 2- 21/4 cups of water – lower the flame after the 1^st whistle and cook for 5 minutes. It’s very easy. After the cooker cools down, transfer the pulao to a large vessel, add the fried bread, onions and French fries and cashews and mix gently. One drawback is that the peas will not be as green as you would like them to be. If you are particular, you can boil them with salt separately and add the cooked peas to the pulao.

  © Copyright 2011. Brinda Balasubramonian.