Aromatic Veggie Pulao

Ingredients :
(serves 2)

1 1/2 cup - Basmati Rice
1 - medium sized onion
1/2 cup - diced carrots
1/2 cup - peas
1/2 cup - chopped beans
2 - green chillies
10-12 - mint leaves
1/2 tsp - ginger-garlic paste (optional)
4 - cardomoms
5-6 - cloves
1/2 inch - cinnamon stick
2 tbsp - oil
1 1/2 tsp - salt or to taste

Wash and soak basmati rice for about 20 mins.

Chop onions into long thin slices. Slit green chillies into halves and coarsly chop mint leaves.

Take a deep non-stick or a thick-bottom pan, good enough to cook the rice. On medium-high heat, add oil. Add all the spices, bay leaf, cloves, cardomoms, cinnamon stick. When you get the nice aroma, which usually takes about half a minute, add green chillies, chopped mint and chopped onions. Saute well. When the color of the onions change, add ginger-garlic paste, mix well. Now add the veggies, beans, carrots and peas. Mix well and simmer it till the veggies gets cooked. Make sure you are not browning the vegetables and the onion, else the color of the pulao tends to look more dark than it's supposed to look :)

Drain the water from the basmati rice and keep it aside. When the vegetables are almost cooked, add the basmati rice and mix again. Cook till all the remaining moisture evaporates from the pan and the rice smells good. The reason I'm telling you to do this is that, by frying the rice the texture of the rice is grainy, not mushy and it also gives out nice basmati flavor to the pulao.

Pour 3 1/2 - 4 cups of water and salt and stir again. Place a lid , partially open, on top of the pan.

Let it cook on simmer. It takes around 10-15 mins to get completely cooked. Mix gently with a spatula, making sure all the vegetables and spices are evenly distributed.

Serve hot with raita or any gravy of your choice.




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