Green Pulao

This recipe is kind of special. My mom used to make it very often when I was a kid. I lost my mom the very first year I got married. I miss her food as much as I miss her. I’ve noticed all these years that the good food reminds you of the person you love. Strangely my mother-in-law started making this Pulao a couple of years back and it tasted exactly like my mom’s. They even share the same names! It’s surprising that two ladies, from two different cultures, cook the same dish without knowing each other’s recipe or even tasting each other food and it turns out exactly the same!! So this recipe is definitely dedicated to my mom and mother-in-law.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups cooked Basmati Rice
• 1 cup boiled Mixed Vegetable (Carrot, Potato, French Beans, Green Peas, Cauliflower)
• ½ cup chopped Coriander Leaves
• ½ cup chopped Mint Leaves
• 2 Green Chilies
• 1 inch piece Ginger
• 3 cloves of Garlic
• 1 inch piece Whole Cinnamon
• 1 Star Anise
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 1 tsp. Cumin Seeds
• 1 tbsp. Ghee (Clarified Butter)
• Salt to Taste

Method:

• Add Ginger, Garlic, Coriander Leaves, Mint Leaves and Green Chilies into a blender and mix well into a fine paste.
• Add the Clarified Butter into a Wok and allow it to heat.
• Add the Cumin Seeds and let it crackle.
• Then add the Bay Leaf, Star Anise and Cinnamon and sauté for half a minute.
• Add the Green Paste and again sauté for 2 minutes and add salt as per your taste.
• Now add the Mixed Vegetables and Rice and toss gently. Make sure that you don’t break the rice and see that the rice is evenly coated with the green masala.
• There you have your Green Pulao.