In a restaurant, If you give me a choice, I would mostly pick Rice dishes over Naans & Kulchas. My idea of a nice meal would be a lovely fragrant Biryani with raita or a subtly flavoured Peas Pulao or Jeera Rice with some Dal Tadka or a gravy. I love eating nice & soft Phulkas, mopping them up with a good side dish but most restaurants do not serve Phulkas so you would mostly find me ordering a Rice Dish.

How To:

Wash & clean Basmati Rice under running water several times. Soak Rice in water for about 15 minutes. Drain & set aside.

In a pressure cooker, heat 1 tbsp Desi Ghee. When Hot, Add Cloves, Cinnamon & Bay Leaves. Fry on very low heat for a about 30 seconds. Add the rice & Fry well for about 2 minutes till it aromatic, Add Salt. I cup water & 1/2 a cup of milk. Mix well.

Allow it to pressure cook for 1 whistle. I use a Hawkins Pressure Cooker, so mine gets done in just one whistle. Turn off the flame & set aside for the pressure to drop.

Meanwhile, in a small pan, heat a tsp ghee & fry cashewnuts until crisp & golden. Set aside. In the same pan add another tbsp of ghee & once hot, fry the onions gently until they turn crisp & brown. This should take about 10 minutes or so. Drain & set aside

Wait until the rice cools down a bit to avoid breakage. Fluff the rice with a fork. Add the onions & cashew nuts & mix gently, Transfer to a serving dish & Serve with a nice side dish

NOTE:

You can also replace half the quantity of Basmati rice with Jeera Rice ( A fragrant short grained rice variety) , It has a nice flavour, I often do that.