Mint & Peas Pulao

by  on  in Recipes

Rice is the staple food of south Indians. There are so many ways to prepare rice. Here is a rice pulao recipe that is surprisingly easy to cook, packs a big serving of flavor and looks colorful to boot.

What you need

  • 2 cups Basmati rice
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 medium sized red onion
  • 1 cup mint leaves
  • 1/2 cup fresh or frozen green peas
  • 1 tbsp ground fresh ginger
  • 1 tbsp ground fresh garlic
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 5 tbsp extra light olive oil
  • 3 cloves
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1/2 stick cinnamon
  • 10-15 cashews
  • 5 long thai green chilies
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • Pressure cooker

Method

Wash and soak the rice in water for about 10 minutes. Start by melting the butter and oil in an open pressure cooker. Just before the oil smokes add the cloves, bay leaves and cinnamon and fry for 30 seconds. Add thinly sliced onions and fry until golden brown. While the onions are browning, grind the ginger, garlic, green chillies and washed mint leaves in a small blender. This will result in a green and fragrant spice paste. Add this paste to the fried onions. Saute for a minute and then add peas. Saute for another minute. Drain the soaked rice and add to the cooker. Saute for another minute on low flame. Add water to the cooker and increase to medium heat. Add salt and lemon juice.

This is the time to taste and ensure you have the right balance of salt, spiciness and tanginess. Since you are tasting the water in which the rice will cook in, the water should taste a bit saltier than the final result. You can add some red chili powder to make it spicier. We usually add about 1/4 tsp chili powder. Close the cooker and seal with weight valve. Wait until the first whistle goes off. Immediately reduce the heat to low and let it cook for 2 minutes. Remove from cooktop and let the cooker cool until safe to open. Open the cooker and transfer the pulao to a large serving bowl. Fluff the rice and ensure the spice and rice are mixed well.

Heat a small pan and melt some butter. Fry the cashews in the butter until golden brown. Garnish the pulao with fried cashews and fresh mint leaves.

Notes

  • Substitute ginger-garlic paste for fresh ginger garlic. Fresh is always better though.
  • Substitute white or yellow onions for red onions.
  • Substitute clarified butter (ghee) for butter when frying cashews.
  • 1 cup = 8 fl ounces