Tried and tasted by Nivedita,
Hi All,
When it comes to rice, I go weak. I can't stop eating rice in any form, any style and any time.
If I go out to restaurants I always prefer to taste different types of rice preparation. Some I have tried and failed, some were disaster, few I could prepare almost near to the perfection. This is one among those successful recipes.
Though I have tasted this many times but was lazy to prepare at home. But last week I just planned to put my effort to recreate this restaurant style Veg.pulao and I got it almost same or according to my kids it was better than the restaurant taste.😍😊. And again I tried it this week and the result was same.
Without boasting much, I am coming to the recipe.
First time I used basmati rice and second time I used Jeera rice. If we use biryani leaves then it tastes just like Basmati. Nothing much difference except the aroma.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
Rice - 1 1/2 cup(Basmati or Jeera)
Mix vegetables - 1 1/2 cup( I have used beans, carrot and fresh green pea. You can add corn and paneer too. I love the paneer and corn in it but i didn't have)
Green capsicum - 1 medium, cubed
Green chilli - 2, slit(avoid if you want bland taste)
Onion - 1 big, finely sliced
Oil - 1/4 cup
Star anseed - 1 whole
Tej patta - 2 big
Jeera(cumin seeds) - 1 TSP
Ginger garlic paste - 1tsp(fresh made tastes good)
Salt to taste
Ghee 1 tsp+1tsp
Cashew nuts -1 tbsp, cut into pieces
Lime juice - 2 TSP
Fresh coriander and mint leaves - handful, cleaned, washed and chopped.
Water - as per the instructions on the packet. Mine is rough measurement. Usually I take
1: 1 1/2 ratio or most of the times it's just an eye measurement)
DRY WHOLE MASALA - 1 1/2 TBSP:
BLACK PEPPER - 20TO25(depends on how strong the quality is and reduce if you want mild spicy taste. PLANNING TO USE WHITE PEPPER CORNS NEXT TIME TO GET PERFECT WHITE PULAO.
Green cardamom -2(or 1 green and half of black elaichi)
Cloves - 4 to 6
Cinnamon - 1 inch
Dry fry all the masalas and keep aside(keep it coveres to save the aroma)
Preparation:
- Wash the rice twice and soak it for 15 minutes atleast. Drain the water and keep it aside.
- Cut all the vegetables in to cubes.
Parboil or steam the vegetables for few minutes, take care not to make it soft.
- Now coarse powder the dry masalas and again keep it covered.
- Fry cashew nuts in 1 TSP ghee.
- Cook the rice either in a cooker or open thick bottomed vessel. Add little salt and a TSP of ghee and 1tsp of coarse masala and star anseed. Again rice should be parboiled.
- Just check the water once rice is parboiled. If there is still water drain it. It's safer to cook it very less water. Because if we need to remove the water, then all the flavour will go off with the water. Or if you must drain the water, use the water to cook the vegetables.
- Now, take again a thick bottomed and wide kadai or another cooker pan and keep it on medium flame.(By the way, my friends laugh at me for keeping cookers of all the sizes, I have cookers from 1litre to 10litres. But I know the importance of using cooker, how it is helpful.)
- Add oil. Once hot, add Jeera and onion together. Fry till golden brown.
- Now add ginger garlic paste. Saute it on low flame till onion gets brown.
- Now add the boiled vegetables and saute it slowly for a minute.
- Add remaining garam masala powder and salt. Remember there is already salt in the rice.
- Mix well, add the rice and lime juice.
- Mix it slowly, close the lid and cook on very low flame for 10 minutes. Don't allow it to whistle.
- If using open kadai, then close it with thick lid and keep some weight on it to avoid the rice getting it burnt.
- Once cool, spread the fried cashew and chopped coriander.
- Serve hot with onion raita.
It tastes good even after its cold😉.
To make onion raita:
Onion - 1 big, finely cubed
Fresh curd - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander and mint leaves 1 TSP chopped finely.
Mix all the above ingredients in a serving bowl. Onion raita is ready.
Keep smiling,
