Pulao or mixed rice comes in various colors and flavors. It is popular all over the Indian sub-continent and every region lends its own unique flavor to this dish making it distinct. Tangy lemon rice, spicy (and tangy) tamarind rice, bland peas pulao, plain jeera rice and the list is almost endless.
Mint Pulao
Mint is one of the easiest herbs to grow and in my opinion, any herb garden is incomplete without this versatile herb. I always have fresh mint ready to plucked in my garden and needless to say, this dish has become a staple in my kitchen.
Guest Chef: Saraswathi Varadarajan
Ingredients
- Fresh Mint Leaves – a handful
- Basmati Rice – 3 cups
- Ghee – 2 tbsp
- Jeera – 1 tsp
- Cloves – 2-3
- Dry red chilies – 2
- Fresh Ginger ( tender) – 1 inch piece
- Peas – 1/2 cup
- Salt – 1/2 tsp
- Coconut milk – 1/2 cup
- Hot Water – 2.5 cups
Directions
- Clean and wash the fresh mint leaves well. Grind it to a smooth paste with dry red chilies and fresh ginger.
- In a rice cooker (or pressure cooker), add ghee, jeera, cloves, salt, rice and sauté well till they turn light brown.
- Add the ground mixture to the cooker and mix well.
- At this point, add coconut milk, peas and hot water; cook it till the rice is well done.
- Optionally, add sliced almonds and/or a sprig of mint as garnish.