Wishing everyone an incredibly happy and blessed New Year.
This is my first post for the year 2024. It was quite a tussle deciding on what my first post would be. I had to decide between the Pea and Paneer Pulao and Goa Sausage Pinwheels; (Rice and Goa Sausages – both are on my list of favorite things). Given my love for all things rice😊 this post won easily, so here goes….
Christmas season has been a hectic one with especially too much food, loads of desserts and not forgetting the tipple!!!. Soon we were all craving a light vegetarian meal. I had made paneer at home hence decided to make this pea and paneer pulao which was an excellent choice. It paired very well with the chutney wali raita, laccha pyaaz and papad.
Do give this dish a try.
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups basmati rice
100 -150 gms paneer
1 to 1-1/2 cup of frozen peas
Oil to fry the paneer
1 tbsp oil + 2 tbsp ghee
1 tsp jeera
6 cloves
8 peppercorns
1 piece cinnamon
4 green cardamoms
2 small bay leaves
1 medium onion sliced
2-3 flakes of garlic finely chopped
1” ginger julienned
2 green chillies
2-3 tbsp of coriander leaves chopped
Extra coriander leaves for garnish
2-1/2 cup hot water
Salt to taste
½ tsp garam masala
½ tsp roasted jeera powder
Method:
- Wash the rice till the water runs clear, soak for about 20 minutes and drain.
- Fry the cubed paneer till light golden brown and set aside.
- In a cooking pot, add the oil and the ghee, when hot, add the jeera, cloves, pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, and bay leaves and sauté.
- Next add the onions and fry till near golden, do not burn.
- Add the soaked and drained rice, garlic, ginger, green chillies, coriander leaves, peas and sauté till well coated with the oil/ghee.
- Add the water (see notes) and salt to taste. Let it come to a rolling boil and simmer.
- When nearly done, add the paneer pieces on top of the rice (set aside a few pieces for garnish) and sprinkle the garam masala and jeera powder, cover and allow to cook till done.
- Allow to cool a bit and gently fluff with a fork and remove on to a serving platter. Garnish with the remaining paneer pieces and coriander leaves.
- Serve with raita of choice, papad and laccha pyaaz.
Notes:
- Use superior quality basmati rice.
- Whilst the usual ratio of rice to water for pulao is 1:2, I like to use ½ cup less than double the water. In this instance I have used 2 cups water + half cup milk.
- You can also fry cashew nuts and raisins and toss in the pulao. My family do not like it, so I do not use.
sunispalate 