CaLDRON February 2014 - Valentine's Day Special | Page 54

RECIPES - LOVE BITES

Mangalorean
Sweet Pulao
The first time I cooked for my husband (then, friend) was in 2001
at a dinner buffet for 30, where I prepared were ‘Kharam’, ‘Manglorean Sweet Pulao’, ‘Beef Mince with Potatoes’, ‘Chicken Jeere
Miri’, ‘Pork Indad’ and some vegetables among others. These were
some of my favourite Manglorean dishes and some of my invited
friends insisted I cook Manglorean fare.

Ingredients:
• 4 cups water
• 2-3 tbsp ghee
• 3 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 4-5 cloves
• 1-2 green ca rdamoms
• 2-inch cinnamon
• 1 star anise

by Karishma Pais-Kim

• Handful of cashewnuts, almonds
and raisins
• 500gm Basmati rice, washed
and soaked for 15 minutes, then
drained
• 2 tbsp sugar
• Salt, to taste

Method:
1. Warm the water in a separate vessel. Don’t let it bubble too much before
adding to the rice, else you will lose volume to evaporation.
2. Melt the ghee in a pressure cooker. Fry the slices of two onions till it turns
brown. Remove and keep aside.
3. In the same ghee, add the bay leaf, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and star
anise. Add the nuts and raisins and roast lightly. Remove some of these nuts
and raisins and reserve for garnishing.
4. Add the remaining sliced onion and sauté for a minute or two.
5. Add the drained rice and fry for a couple of minutes until the rice releases
its fragrance.
6. Then add hot water, salt and sugar and mix well gently, so you don’t break
the rice grains.
7. If you want a richer fragrance, slowly add 1/2 tsp of ghee on top of the water, but don’t stir after adding the ghee. Close the pressure cooker and cook
until done, which is usually three whistles.
8. Let the pressure escape by itself. Open and transfer to a serving dish.
9. Garnish with the reserved fried onions, nuts and raisins.

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CaLDRON February 2014