Green Peas Pulao

Green Peas Pulao is on of the simplest rice dishes. It gets done in a jiffy but tastes amazing. Since the recipe doesn’t call for a lot of spices, the dish enhances the aroma of the Clarified Butter and Asafetida. The dish tastes great without any accompaniment, but with a cup of Dal Tadka, it’s a hit. I’ll be posting the recipe for Dal Tadka next, so that you could enjoy the two together. But if you do not want to divert the flavor, I recommend eating Peas Pulao alone.  Here’s the recipe for Green Peas Pulao.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. Clarified Butter (Ghee)
• 4 pods. Green Cardamom
• 1 inch stick Cinnamon
• 1 tsp.  Cumin Seeds
• ¼ tsp. Asafetida
• ½ cup boiled Green Peas
• 2 cups boiled Basmati Rice
• Salt to Taste
• White Pepper Powder for Seasoning
• 2 tbsp. chopped Coriander Leaves

Method:

• Heat the Clarified Butter in a Pan.
• Add Cumin Seeds and allow it to crackle.
• Add Green Cardamom and Cinnamon and wait for half a minute.
• Now add the Asafetida.
• Add the Green Peas and Rice and mix well.
• Season with salt and White Pepper powder and mix well gently.
• Let it cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Finally add the chopped Coriander Leaves and mix well.

Chicken Biryani

When I lived in Mangalore, I remember eating Chicken Biryani from a Restaurant called ‘Royal Darbar’ on every special occasion. I have never eaten biryani like that anywhere else. I’ve spent years to replicate a biryani like that and have managed to come pretty close. Chicken Biryani is done using various methods; this is my way of doing it. This is the best you can do at home with minimum complications. Well, this is the least I could do to make it less complicated. I bet this has turned out to be the lengthiest recipe I’ve ever posted. But that’s how Biryani is. I guess that’s the reason why it is cooked only on special occasions. So here’s the recipe for Chicken Biryani.

Ingredients for the Marinade:

• 1 kg. Chicken cut into pieces
• 4 Green Chilies
• ½ cup chopped Coriander Leaves
• ½ cup chopped Mint Leaves
• 2 inch Ginger Piece
• 5 Cloves of Garlic
• 1 cup Yogurt
• Salt to Taste
• ½ tbsp. Garam Masala Powder
• ½ tbsp. Coriander Powder
• ½ tsp. Red Chili Powder
• ½ tsp. Turmeric Powder
• ½ tbsp. Saffron Essence
• 3 pods of Green Cardamom
• 1 stick of Cinnamon
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 2 pieces of Mace
• 2 Onions sliced and deep fried till Brown
• 1 tbsp. Ghee or Clarified Butter

Method:

• Take the Green Chilies, Coriander Leaves, Mint Leaves, Ginger and Garlic and blend into a fine paste.
• Take a large nonstick Pot. (The marinating has to done in the same vessel in which you will cook later).
• Add the Paste Mixture, Chicken, and all the other Ingredients except the Fried Onions and allow it to marinate for at least half an hour.
• After half an hour, add the Fried Onions and mix well.
• Now Place the pot on the stove and cook the Chicken on low heat with the lid on until the chicken is 80% cooked. (Make sure you cook the chicken without lid for 2 minutes on High Flame. This will help to dry out the excess gravy).

Meanwhile prepare the Rice to make the Biryani.

Ingredients for the Biryani Rice:

• 2 cups of uncooked long Grain Basmati Rice.
• 1 tbsp. Salt
• 10 cups Water
• A small Piece of Muslin Cloth
• 2 sticks of Cinnamon
• 5 Pods of green Cardamom
• 4 Cloves
• 1 Star Anise
• 1 tbsp. Rose Water
• 1 tsp. Saffron Essence
• 1 tsp. Saffron
• 2 tbsp. Clarified Butter (Ghee)
• 3-4 drops of Yellow Food Color

Method:

• Wash the Basmati Rice and keep aside.
• Place the Cardamom, Cinnamon, Cloves and Star Anise in the Muslin Cloth and Tie it into a Knot. (This is the Spice Bag).
• Add the water into a large non-stick Pot along with the Salt and the Spice Bag.
• Bring the water to a boil and then add the Rice.
• Cook the Rice until it’s 80% done.
• Use a large sieve or a colander and drain water from the rice.
• Once all the water is drained, transfer the rice into a Large Bowl and Add the Rose water, Saffron Essence and Clarified Butter and mix gently using your hand. (Be very gentle, not break the strands of rice while mixing. Also if possible use gloves as the rice would be still hot and you will also have to mix the food color).
• Now add the food color and again, mix gently. Make sure you don’t coat all the rice with the color. Allow some of the Rice to remain white. (You can skip the food color part; it’s just to add that extra color).
• Take the saffron in a small cup and add about 4 tbsps. of hot water. (This will help the saffron release it’s color and aroma. We will be using this saffron water after the final layering.

Final Layering:

• The chicken should be 80% cooked by now. Layer the Rice on top of the Chicken.
• Spread the Rice evenly and then pour the Saffron Water on top along with the strands of Saffron. If you have some bits of the fried onions left, garnish the top with it.
• Cover the Pot with a tin foil and then put on the lid. This will allow all the steam to remain inside.
• Now place a flat pan below the Pot and cook on low flame for 15-18 minutes.
• Chicken Biryani done! (While you serve the biryani, make sure you don’t mix the rice with the chicken, Dig deep and grab some chicken and then serve some rice from the top).

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.