Peas Pulao

Matar Bhat

A really yummy and spicy type of rice with peas. In the Indian society, rice plays a very important part in daily diet. A meal is considered complete when finished with rice. The variety of rice and the number of recipes available for cooking rice is simply amazing. Just by adding few little spices n herbs one can turn plain boring rice into a very very pleasurable experience.





Ingredients:
1 cup Basmati rice
1/4 cup green peas
2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
2 green chillies chopped (+/- to taste)
1 tsp Garam masala
1/2 tsp chilli powder
2 onions chopped finely
1 tomato chopped finely
Cilantro 1/2 bunch
Fresh grated coconut
2 tbsp poppy seeds
1/2 cup tomato puree
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste
Paneer (optional)
2 Cups of water for one cup of Basmati rice

Process:
Clean and wash the rice. Soak in warm water for 10 minutes. Drain and keep aside.

Take the cooker and put in 2 tbsp of oil. When oil gets hot, put in ginger garlic paste. When it becomes a bit brown, add the poppy seeds then add onions. Once the onions turn pinkish-brown, add the tomato puree. After 2-3 minutes when the tomatoes are done, add in the cilantro, green chillies, garam masala, chilli powder, and salt. Finally add in the freshly grated coconut and mix it well. Take care at this stage because if you tend to take too much time, the coconut gets burnt. Add in peas. Then add in rice and water and let it cook for 3 whistles. When done, remove from stove and let cool. Mix it well and serve.

Garnish peas pulao with fried onions, raisins, cashews and serve hot with Raitas.