Shankar's Pulao
Friday, July 15, 2011
I guess, most of you reading this would know that it was my Birthday a couple of days ago .. Well, Shankar, surprised me with this Pulao for the Birthday lunch .. Hence, the name of this dish :-)
I was actually quite thrilled with the idea that He'd be cooking something. Since he is a novice, I wanted to give him instructions lend a helping hand But I was shooed away from the kitchen The only thing I did was, measure Basmati rice & soak it in water. I really don't know where he got this recipe from, but it was just fabulous ..
You Will Need:
- 1 cup Basmati Rice - washed & soaked for about an hour
- 2 carrots - diced
- 1 large potato - diced
- A handful of beans - chopped
- 1/2 cup - cauliflower florets
- 1/2 cup green peas
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp garam Masala
- Salt as per taste
- 2 tsp desi ghee
- 2 tsp oil
- fresh coriander for garnish
For the Paste:
- 2 medium sized onions - roughly chopped
- 1' cinnamon stick
- 3 cloves
- 2 green cardamons
- 1 tsp poppy seeds
- 4 green chillies
- 1/4 tsp black peppercorns
- A handful of fresh mint leaves
How To:
- Heat oil a small pan, add all the ingredients mentioned in the 'Paste' list & fry until the onions are golden brown. Allow it to cool & grind into a smooth paste using very little water
- Heat Ghee in a pressure cooker, add ginger-garlic paste. Add all the vegetables one by one. Add the ground paste, chilli poiwer & Garam Masala & mix well. Drain the soaked rice & add into the pressure cooker. Add salt & 1 1/2 cups of water. Add 2 tsp cooking oil. Stir well & check for salt again.
- Close the lid & allow to to pressure cook for 1 whistle. Set aside to cool
- Once the pressure is released, open the lid, Add lemon juice & chopped coriander & fluff gently with a fork.
- Transfer to a serving bowl
Serve with any Raita of your choice .. Enjoi !!!
While, Shankar was at it, I was quite unhappy about the fact the he was frying up all the ingredients to make a paste. I told him, it wasn't necessary because the paste will anyways be sauteed before adding rice. Because of this, we actually had a mini fight in between :-) But the end result was very good .. Frying up the spices before grinding does lend a unique taste .. Do not skip it, if you are going to be trying this ..
Anyways, I did have a Fab Birthday .. All of you, who stopped by to wish me, Thanks so much .. It really made my day :-)
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