11 October, 2017

KASHMIRI PULAO

Very gladly sharing the recipe of Kashmiri pulao…. one of my most favourite dish ! It was there in my to do list since long time and tried it out in my own way…and it’s a big hit. Already made it repeatedly for many times. The simple yellow dal goes very well with this Pulao. Generally in restaurants they use canned fruits to make this pulav, somehow I don’t like that particular way, so changed the pattern accordingly and used more fresh fruits. Kashmir is known for walnuts and always I wanted to use it in this pulao, so that is one more twist in this recipe. You can change it up in many ways by simply varying with the vegetables/fruits/nuts you want to use.

Ingredients :

Basmati rice – 1 cup
Water – 2 cups
Saffron strands – 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste

For tempering :

Ghee – 1 tsp + 1/2 tsp
Black pepper powder – 1/2 tsp
Cloves – 4 nos.,
Star anise – 1 big
Cinnamon sticks – 2 or 3

Nuts :

Almonds – 10 to 12
Cashew nuts – 10 to 12
Raisins – 1 tbsp
Walnuts – 4 big

Vegetables :

Capsicum – 1/3 cup (cut into long)
French beans – 1/3 cup (cut into long)
Carrot – 1/3 cup (cut into long)
Broccoli florets – 1/2 cup

Chopped fresh fruits :

Pineapple – 1/4 cup
Orange – 1/4 cup
Pomegranate seeds – 1/4 cup
Cherry – 1 to 2 tbsp

Preparations :

Soak saffron strands in 1 tbsp warm water
Chop cashew nuts, almonds and walnuts
Heat 2 cups of water, when boil.. add in 1 cup of rinsed basmati rice and cook till done
After 5 minutes, divide the rice into half, and add in soaked saffron strands along with water to the one portion of rice and mix well and keep the other portion as such
Cook french beans and carrot in enough water (do not cook soft, but keep it crunchy)

PROCEDURE :

Heat 1 tsp ghee in a pan, add in cloves, cinnamon and star anise, stir once and add in chopped cashew nuts, almonds, walnuts, raisins and capsicum and saute till capsicum becomes little soft

Now add in blanched french beans and carrot, mix everything well

In the same pan make some space in the centre (like shown in the pic below) and add in 1/2 tsp of ghee, let it become hot, then add in black pepper powder and mix everything well by adding required amount of salt (at this stage add salt required only for vegetables and nuts)