Cookbook:Pulao (Indian Rice Pilaf)

Pulao (Indian Rice Pilaf)
Category	Rice recipes
Difficulty

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Pulao or pallao, is a rice dish from India, consisting of rice and a mixture of lentils, vegetables, mainly including peas, potatoes, French beans, carrots or meat, mainly chicken, fish, lamb, pork or beef. It is usually served on special occasions and weddings, though its not uncommon to eat it for a regular lunch or dinner meal.

Ingredients

• Basmati rice
• Vegetables (onion, carrot, beans, peas)
• Ginger garlic paste
• Ghee
• Oil
• Pulao mix (available in stores)
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds (zeera)
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
  • 1 tsp ginger paste (pisi adrak)
  • 1 tsp garlic paste (pisa lasan)
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 3 green chillies (slit into 2) (more or less may be used depending on taste preference)
  • 2 big black cardamoms (bari kaali ilaichi)
  • 3 bay leaves (tezz pattay)
  • 6 cloves (loung)
  • 2 cinnamon sticks (dal cheeni)
• Salt

Procedure

1. Clean and soak required quantity of basmati rice in water for about 45 minutes. After that, just keep it in cooker (without the pressure plug), so that you can open and see the consistency of rice being cooked. The rice should cook in about 15–20 minutes.
2. Check for consistency where it's dry and non sticky, with single grains. Set rice aside.
3. Boil all required vegetables and set aside.
4. Cut onions into very thin slices.
5. Heat ghee and/or oil in a pan. Add onions and ginger garlic paste and sauté them.
6. After onions turn a little pink/brown, add all veggies, the pulao masala (proportional to the qty of rice taken), and salt. Mix them well and sauté for about 5–10 minutes; adding a little curd (yogurt) here is optional.
7. After it gets to a dry gravy consistency, taste it to ensure it is correctly salted. Then, add the rice and mix it gently so as not to break the rice.
8. Garnish this with raisins, cashews, and deep-fried onions.