Recipe- Rice Cooked With Green Peas And Whole Spices

Indians love their rice, irrespective of which part of the country they belong to. If you are from India, chances are that you cannot do without eating rice at least once a week.I am a slightly different Indian in this context. I come from a family where rice was made every day for every meal (along with roti) but even then I couldn’t bring myself to love rice.

I do like it but I don’t love it and I can very well do without eating rice for months and years. I remember as a child, I used to find eating rice a very tedious process.Mom would make me eat rice with dals and curries and I would always struggle to finish it. On the other hand I loved rotis and parathas and would finish them up quickly.

Of course things are a little different now. I do enjoy rice now (still not as much as roti) especially when it’s flavored and has veggies added to it like this Matar Pulao.Peas pulao or matar pulao is a popular dish which was made especially during winter months in northern parts of India.We would also call it matar wale chawal (matar=green peas). We used to get fresh green peas only during winters and this pulao and matar paratha were two of my favorite things around that time.

For matar pulao, basmati rice is cooked with fresh green peas and few whole spices.Since here I do not find fresh peas very often, I make matar pulao with frozen peas. Of course it doesn’t taste as good as the one with fresh peas but it’s good enough!

Ingredients

1 cup basmati rice 200 grams, soaked for 30 minutes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
3 green cardamom pods
2 black cardamom
3 cloves
1 medium onion thinly sliced
1 green chili finely chopped
1.5 cups green peas I used frozen green peas, soaked in warm water for 10 minutes before using in the recipe
2-3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1.5 cups water 12 oz
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

Method

* Wash basmati rice until water turns clear, then soak it in enough water for 30 minutes. Once 30 minutes are over, drain the water and set aside the rice.

* Heat a pan on medium heat. Once hot, add the oil and then add the bay leaf, cumin seeds, green cardamom, black cardamom and cloves.Saute until the spices are fragrant, around 30 seconds.

* Then add the sliced onion and green chili and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the onions turn light golden brown in color. You can add a pinch of salt here so that onions cook faster.

* Add the frozen green peas (I soaked frozen peas in warm water for 10 minutes before using in the recipe) along with chopped cilantro. Cook for 1 minute.

* Add 1.5 cups water, salt and let it all come to a boil.

* Once the water starts boiling, add the rinsed and drained rice to the pan. Stir.

* Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook for 10 minutes on medium heat. After 10 minutes check the rice, if it isn’t done cook for additional 5 minutes. Mine was done in 10 minutes.

* Open the lid and fluff the rice with a fork.

* Garnish matar pulao with some more cilantro! Serve hot with any curry or raita.