Kashmiri Pulao | Dry Fruit & Nut Pulao | Nut and Raisin Pulao | Pilaf Recipe | Christmas Recipes

Kashmiri pulao! it isn't difficult as you'd imagine, its super easy to prepare, you just have to collect the ingredients and put them all together and TaDa!! there you have a great and rich one pot meal ready to be served. It is full of flavors and makes a satisfying and wholesome platter. Kashmiri pulao best fits special occasion & party menu. The caramelized onions gives a unique flavor & mellow color to the dish, and those crunchy tit bits of nuts will enliven you so much. Serve for Lunch or dinner along with some hot curry of your choice. I love it with spicy mutton masala, I know that's an odd combo but that's my favorite. 

By the way I wanted to share with you guys an interesting & benefit-able news that will be reigning the internet this December. Long time ago you might have noticed that I had posted a review about cuponation and yesterday I went across the site to graze some deals and found that its time for "GOSF 2014" I wanted to inform you guys about this happening that will be providing you unbelievable offers, voucher codes and heavy deals on every purchase you make online in portals that would participate in GOSF, UNLIKE ANY OTHER DAY.  What is GOSF you may ask me? GOSF, Great Online Shopping Festival, is a kind of concept created by Google in 2012 for promoting online business or e-commerce. Google has collaborated with many Indian online shopping websites, almost 300 of them and is providing a wide range of offers and discounts every year for a particular set of days. You will find a lot of discounts from your favorite websites like Justeat, FoodPanda, BabyOye, FirstCry , GoIbibo, Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Jabong, Myntra, MakeMyTrip, eBay, FabFurnish,and many more. Cuponation has created a special page to provide you all the information about this event just browse through the Cuponation's GOSF page to know about deals that will fascinate you. Since I'm very interested with the foodie side I am now checking out the Best food related coupons and deals of GOSF by cuponation. You may be interested with other niches so take a look soon. It's a three day festival that will be happenning on from December 10, 11 & 12. You will be amazed for sure so don't miss it!! Now lets head on to the recipe :) 

 

INGREDIENTS

Total Preparation Time - 25 to 35 minutes
Serves one person

1. Basmati Rice - 75 grams 
2. Big onion - 1 (thinly sliced) 
3. Green chilli - 1 (optional) 
4. Ginger - 1/4 inch long small piece (crushed) 
5. Mint leaves - Few (8 to 10 leaves)
6. Cumin powder - 1/4 teaspoon 
7. Raisins - 15 to 20 (reduce if you are not a big fan of it)   
8. Saffron  - a pinch 
9. Sugar - 1/4 teaspoon 
10. Almonds - 5 to 10 (sliced)
11. Cashew nuts - 8 
12. Walnuts - 3 to 5 (sliced)
13. Pistachios - 3 to 5  (sliced)
14. Cloves - 2 
15. Bay leaf - 1 
16. Cardamom pods - 2 
17. Cinnamon stick - 1 small piece
18. Cumin seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
19. Peppercorns - 1/4 teaspoon 
20. Ghee - 2 teaspoons 
21. Oil - 2 tablespoons 

PREPARATION METHOD

• Wash basmati rice twice in water and add them to a pan, pour water about 3 or 4 times the quantity of rice. Then add some salt and a teaspoon of oil. Cook on a medium flame until the rice seems cooked but grainy. See that it is cooked and is not gritty. At this stage drain the excess water and pour some cold water into the cooked rice and stir. Drain water and set the cooked rice aside. (You can soak rice for 10 to 20 minutes to fasten cooking but if you don't have enough time its is not necessary. I haven't soaked rice yet I got perfectly cooked grains) 
• Now place a pan on flame and pour ghee along with oil. After it heats up add the sliced onions and sugar. Saute on a medium flame until the onions turn brown and caramelized. Remove the onions from pan and set aside.  

• To the same oil add the whole spices such as Bay leaf, cardamom pods, cumin seeds, cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon stick, peppercorns and saute on a very low flame for a few seconds. 

• Then add the nuts, crushed ginger, slit green chilly, raisins and saute on a low flame until the nuts seem crisp and slightly browned. Now add some mint leaves and give a stir. 

• Add cumin powder and necessary salt and saute until the raw smell goes away.
• Then add the saffron strands (crush it well before use) and saute for a few seconds. 
• Then add the cooked rice and saute gently so that you do not break the rice grains. Saute until the nut mixture gets mixed up well with the rice.

• Finally add the caramelized onions and stir well. (Reserve some caramelized onions for garnishing)
• Remove from flame and garnish with chopped mints leaves or caramelized onions and serve hot with some spicy curry.

TIP 1: You can add cubed pineapple and some pomegranate kernels finally. Also add nuts of your choice increase or decrease as you wish. 

TIP 2: You can completely use oil instead of ghee but ghee gives a very nice flavor to the recipe so add atleast in minimal quantity. 

TIP 3: The rice should be grainy else the dish wont look appetizing. Also you can cook rice ahead and refrigerate it and use it later so it will best fit a party menu.  

TIP 4: You can soak saffron in a teaspoon of milk and add it to the rice finally to give a part of the rice some yellow coloring. Or use some turmeric powder instead.