“One of Subadra’s mom’s recipes that is fantastic. This is a vegetarian main course or a great side dish for the carnivores. It can be served hot (main dinner course) or cold (like a salad at a picnic or side dish). Easy to fix and bring to parties. And, for the super gourmand… it’s easy to take it to the next level.” – Karl Schultz
Ingredients:
- 4-5 cloves
- 4-5 cardamom
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cup Basmati rice
- 3-5 carrots
- 1/2 red onion
- 1/2 cup peas, frozen or fresh
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup cashews, chopped
- canola oil
- cilantro/coriander
- salt and pepper, to taste
Preparation:
Soak the rice in cold water for 30 minutes. Strain the rice. In a good size pan, using some oil, sauté the cardamom, cloves and cinnamon for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the rice and sauté it until the oil is absorbed and it turned opaque, almost like if you were making a risotto.
Transfer the rice and spices to a rice cooker (If you use a pan/ stove, that’s fine. The pro in Karl’s Kitchen uses a rice cooker). Normally,
when cooking rice you use twice the amount of water as rice. Since it’s soaked for 30 minutes and has absorbed the oil, it only needs 90% to 95%. So use just over 2 3/4 cups of water to cook the rice.
While the rice is cooking, dice the red onion. Grate the carrots in a food processor. You need just enough to fill it so 3-5 carrots should do it.
In large pan (big enough for all the veggies and rice) using some oil, sauté the onion. After the onion starts softening, add the grated carrots and sauté those as well. After a few minutes add the peas to that pan. You may need to add oil as it sautés. Once the mixture is hot and the flavors have blended, set it aside.
When the rice has cooked, stir it in small batches into the carrots and peas. I usually add salt to taste at this point as well. If you can, take the cinnamon, cardamom, and clove out of the rice. No worries if you can’t. As you mix in the rice, it should turn a nice shade of yellowish orange. If you see white rice, it’s not mixed well enough. You don’t need to add all of the rice, just enough for the right balance with the amount of carrots and peas used.
In a small pan, heat a little bit of oil. Once hot, add the cashews and sauté. Be careful not to burn them. Just before they turn golden brown, add the raisins. Stir them until they are coated with oil and heat them for 15 seconds. Be careful, they burn quickly! Immediately stir them into the rice mixture. Golden raisin work best. Zane currants can be added as well.
Final step, chop some cilantro (for the Yanks) or coriander (for the Brits and Indians).