Thursday, November 12, 2009

Vegetable Pulav


This post is for my cousin in Mumbai - Shanta Akka. She wanted a simple vegetable pulav recipe. I learnt this version from a vacation class I took at Catering College (Cadell Rd. - Mumbai) while in college. The funny thing was the class was called a "Housewives Course" but 80% of us were college kids who had never stepped into the kitchen to cook! It was such a fun hands-on experience. Every week we cooked 3 dishes - an appetizer, entree and dessert. And got to take them home to enjoy with our family. We even had a test at the end to judge not only our newly acquired cooking skills, but also our presentation (we had to design a menu card) and cleanliness etc. And imagine my utter surprise when I got the second highest marks in that test - I still think it was rigged.
Anyway, coming to the recipe, here's how I make it:
1 cup Basmati rice - wash and drain
2 cups water
3 tsp canola oil
1 cup chopped veggies - yesterday I used 1/2 onion, 1 small red potato (with skin), handful of green beans and 1/2 carrot (peeled) - I usually cut them all into long slivers
Whole spices - 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 bayleaves, 1 inch cinnamon stick, 4 cloves, 4 cardamons, 4 black peppers
1 green chilli - deseeded and deribbed for less heat
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp ghee
Few cashewnuts
Heat 2 tsp oil. Add the chopped veggies and fry for 5 mins. Drain. In the same pot, add the remaining 1 tsp oil. Drop the whole spices and the chilli pepper. Fry 2 - 3 mins. Add the rice and fry another 2 - 3 mins. Add the water and bring to a rapid boil. Add the salt and sugar. Cover and cook on low for 5 mins. Then add the fried veggies. Cover again and cook another 10 mins. Squeeze in the lemon juice. Gently mix with a fork and take off heat. Heat the ghee in a small vessel and fry the cashews till golden. Pour over the pulav.
Enjoy with a spicy gravy veggie.

5 comments:

Rohini said...

Simple and delicious Pulav!!

Sandhya Hariharan said...

Delicious... Supriya...
I loved the idea of slicing the veges length wise....

Lakshmi said...

Simple and quick pulav recipes are always a keeper. Pulav looks delish. You asked me about substitute to tamarind but I can't think of any. Do not use tamarind paste as the preparation is a dry powder. Well, omit tamarind and make it in small qty..about 1 cup of powder may be. Being a South Indian we use tamarind in most of our dishes so without it we may not find it tasty. IF you are not so particular about that tangy taste.

Parita said...

Your vegetable pulav looks scrumptious..makes me hungry :)

Usha said...

Loved the pulao and your recollection of catering college on cadell road brought back memories, how many times I have crossed that place on my way to my grandmothers home, my sis in law did a vacation course there too....

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