Peas Pulao-rice

                                              

About the food:  

Peas Pilau-rice is a very popular Indian dish and also very easy to make.  It tastes delicious and aromatic infused with all the Indian spices and makes a very good lunch or dinner.  It is particularly very favourite among children.  Below is my recipe, however, there are many variations of this, and in time, the reader could also experiment with the flavours and ingredients and can come up of a new variety. 

Preparation time: 15 mins. 

Cooking time: 30 mins.

Ingredients: (serves 4) 

For Pilau-masala: (powdered spice)

5-6 cloves
5-6 cardamon pods
2 inches cinnamon stick
1/2 nutmeg
4-5 mace florets
4-5 black pepper seeds
1/2 teaspoon shah jeera (optional)
1/2 teaspoon shah marich (optional)

For Pilau-rice:

2 medium size cups of Basmati rice
4 cups of water
1/2 cup of green peas, fresh or frozen
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 bayleaf (optional)
salt to taste


 Method: 

For the Pilau-masala:

Dry roast all the spices, until they start to crackle, but do not over-roast. Grind the spices to a powder, and store in an airtight container. It could be kept for several months.

For the Pilau-rice:

1. Measure the rice in a pan and rinse it 2-3 times with plain water. Add the measured cups of water in the rice ( it is double the quantity of rice), and soak it for 20 mins. The measure of the water is absolutely critical for cooking a pilau rice, so take care while measuring.

2. If using frozen peas, defrost the peas, and dry it by spreading on a kitchen tissue.

3. Heat oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds and let them crackle, but take care not to burn them. Add the chopped onions, and saute over a medium flame until they are translucent. Add the green peas, and continue to cook for about 5 mins. Add the rice with the water, and mix it well in the pan. Add salt to taste. 

4. Cover the pan and let it come to boil. Uncover the pan, put the flame to medium, and let the rice simmer, turning it occasionally with a flat spatula, taking care not to break the rice. Also take care that the rice does not burn or stick to the base of the pan.

5. When the water had dried up, put the flames off. Lay one layer of the rice immediately in a rice plate or a flat serving bowl, and sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon of the pilau spice. Put another layer of rice on top and repeat the sprinkling of spices. Serve hot. Best with any Indian style curries.