Vegetable pulao in coconut milk

Plain pulao or vegetable pulao was a Sunday staple in my house when I was growing up. It continued for a few years after I started cooking on my own too. Pulao and Goa sausage was a Sunday treat that we eagerly looked forward to. Since the pulao, plain or with veggies was so easy to put together and it was not only delicious but also tasted great with all the meat curries we cooked on Sunday that I never bothered with cooking any other pulao. Click Vegetable pulao for the simple and easy recipe.

When I moved to Cebu, my friend Sudha taught me so many things about South Indian cuisine, one of them being the recipe I share with you today. The flavors are delicate and the rice grains are moist and look appetizingly colorful. This is a recipe you pull out of your repertoire for a special day or special guests!

Recipe credit : Sudha J

Ingredients:

1. Basmati rice - 2 cups
2. Whole spices - 3 cardamoms, 3 cloves, 1 inch stick cinnamon, 1/2 tsp cumin, 8 peppercorns, 2 bay leaves
3. Onion - 1 medium sized, finely chopped
4. Tomato - 1 medium sized, finely chopped
5. Green chilly - 2 nos, roughly chopped
6. Ginger -garlic paste - 1/2 tbsp
7. Carrot and peas (together) - 1/2 cup, carrot cut in small cubes
8. Coriander and mint - 1/4 cup, roughly chopped
9. Stock cube - 1 no
10. Coconut milk - 2 cups
11. Water - 2 cups
12. Oil and salt as required

Method:

1. Wash the basmati rice and soak in water while you start the preparation for the pulao.
2. In a pan, heat oil and add the whole spices, saute for a minute and then add the onion and fry well. Add the ginger-garlic paste and green chilly and saute for a minute.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook till tomatoes are softened completely. Add the stock cube, carrot, peas, coriander and mint and mix well. Stir fry for a two to three minutes.
4. Drain the basmati rice and add to the pan. Add the 2 cups of water and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Let it boil well for a minute or so and mix well, Taste for salt and add as required. The water should taste a little salty so that when the water is absorbed the rice will taste just right. 
5. Cover the pan with a lid, lower the flame and cook for ten minutes.
6. Once you put it on simmer and cover the lid, do not open it for any reason. Switch off the stove after exactly ten minutes and let it rest for the next twenty minutes and cook further in the steam.
7. Remove the lid after twenty minutes and use a fork to fluff the rice taking care so that the grains are not broken.
8. Serve and enjoy it hot from the pan.

Notes:

• You can add any vegetable like french beans, peas, carrots and cauliflower.
• You can add 4 cups of coconut milk instead of 2 cups of water and 2 cups of coconut milk. The pulao will become very rich and creamy. 
• You can add fried raisins and cashews to make it more rich. You can add them just before you cover the lid and cook for ten minutes.

Mutton Mughlai

I cook mutton rarely, as it is difficult to obtain where I live. And since I cook it so rarely I usually go for my son's two favorite recipes : Bhuna Ghosht or Mutton Stew. So this time I decided to try a new recipe and looked through my books and spotted Mutton Mughlai, it seemed like an easy recipe, not very complicated in terms of ingredients and method of cooking. I was surprised that there was no cashew paste used to thicken the sauce, which I guess is common for many Mughlai preparations. It adds a lot of richness and creaminess to the texture and taste. But if you finely chop your onions and tomatoes or grate them, the sauce is thick. The original recipe didn't call for cashew paste, so I didn't add it either, and we loved the final product. However, if you'd still like it thicker and creamier, you can add cashew paste.

I have prepared this recipe from a newspaper cut-out in my recipe book and it  does not mention the author of the recipe. Whoever authored the recipe, thank-you and God bless!

Ingredients:

• Mutton - 1 kg, cut into pieces

Marinade:

1. Thick curd - 500 ml, beaten
2. Ginger -garlic paste - 2 tbsp
3. Green chilies - 1 no, finely chopped
4. Coriander powder - 1/2 tbsp
5. Cumin powder - 1 tsp
6. Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
7. Kashmiri red chilly powder - 2 tsp
8. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Take a bowl, add all the above ingredients and mix well. Marinate the mutton for at least an hour before cooking.

1. Whole spices : 6 small(green ) cardamoms, 2 big cardamoms, 6 cloves, 2 star anise, 2 inch stick cinnamon, and 3 bay leaves
2. Onions - 4 medium sized, finely chopped or grated
3. Tomatoes - 4 medium sized, finely chopped or grated
4. Green chilly - 2 to 3, roughly chopped
5. Coriander leaves - for garnish
6. Ghee or butter or oil - as required

Method:

1. In a sauce pan, heat oil and add the whole spices. Stir for a minute and then add the onion. Add a tsp of salt and sauté till the onion is browned. This will take time, so you need to be patient.
2. Add the tomatoes when the onions have browned well and continue cooking till the tomatoes are completely melted and the oil starts to separate from the masala.
3. Add the green chilies and and the mutton with the marinade. Stir well, and bring the mutton to a boil, lower the flame and cook till the mutton is done, stirring every few minutes. Mutton takes a long time to cook, so you will need to allocate about 30 - 45 minutes of cooking time depending on the cut and age of the meat. 
4. When the meat on the bone starts to loosen, you know the mutton is cooked well. Once done, garnish with coriander leaves, and serve with phulkas or steamed rice.