Jul

11

Peas Pulao

July 11, 2008 |

inseason.jpg

Gardening is an exercise in optimism. Sometimes,
it is a triumph of hope over experience.
- Marina Schinz

The In Season series is a web diary of the gardening successes and mishaps of two eternally hopeful novices. The ladybug above will lead you to previous posts in the series.

Like last year, we grew three varieties of peas - Wando, Bush and Green Arrow. Peas are among the easiest veggies to grow. Scatter the seeds, cover them with 1/4 inch of soil, and you’re done. We didn’t space them well or thin them out, but all’s well ‘cos we’ve plenty of peas to show for very little effort. The leaves are edible too - delicious in salads.

We like to pop the peas in our mouth as we’re shelling them and eat them raw, or in this fragrant pulao, where their sweetness comes shining through. Whole spices like caraway, green cardamom, cinnamon, mace (the dried lacy reddish covering or arillus of the nutmeg seed) and cloves impart a more delicate flavour than the powdered version. Saffron makes it very aromatic. We find the Kashmiri (Indian) and Iranian varieties to be superior to Spanish saffron.

PEAS PULAO

1.5 cups basmati rice (brown or white)
1 cup shelled green peas
1 tsp caraway (shahjeera) or cumin seeds
1 two-inch stick cinnamon
4 cloves
2 small bay leaves
1 flower mace (or a pinch of grated nutmeg)
3 green cardamoms, shelled
1/4 tsp saffron strands
2 tablespoons milk
1.5 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) or butter or oil
salt to taste

Fried cashews to garnish

1. Wash 1.5 cups basmati rice and keep it in a colander to drain.

2. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a kettle or on the stove top.

3. Powder the cardamom seeds.

4. Take the saffron in a microwave-safe cup and heat it for 10 seconds. Crush it with your fingers. Add the milk and powdered cardamom. Microwave on high for 20 seconds. Keep it aside to soak.

5. In a heavy bottomed pan (like a pressure cooker base), heat the ghee, fry the cashews and keep them aside. Add the caraway, bay leaves, cinnamon, mace, stir for a few seconds, then add the rice and stir gently so that the ghee coats the rice. After about 4 minutes, add salt and 2.75 cups boiling water.

6. Stir once. Cook on high for 3 minutes.

7. Reduce the flame to medium-low (gas mark 2), cover and cook for 7 minutes.

8. Meanwhile, microwave the peas in a single layer with a tablespoon of water (covered, ‘cos they may burst and fly around) for four minutes on HIGH.
If using frozen peas, thaw them by microwaving on HIGH just for one minute.

8. Uncover the pan. The rice should be about 3/4 cooked. Add the remaining 1/4 cup hot water if you need to along with the peas and the saffron mixture. Stir it if you want to. We prefer to keep the peas at the top and mix it just before serving.

9. Cover and cook on low for another 3 minutes.

10. Check if the rice is done. Turn off the flame.

11. Mix very gently, and garnish with fried cashews.

Serve with a curry and/or plain yoghurt, plus some crunchy papads or fritters.

Green Arrow Pea

Peas Pulao is our entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Simona @ Briciole.

- The Jugalbandits

Being An American by Bee @ Forgive Me My Nonsense.

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25 Comments so far

  1. Pooja on July 11, 2008 12:36 pm

    The pictures looks so refreshing :) . this is my all time favorite for its color . we add carrot too sometimes :D.
    btw, Sia’s bday is 12th july,. I saw your comment on her post :D

  2. shilpa on July 11, 2008 12:45 pm

    Yayy..i made peas pulav today. Next time will make with your method..addition of saffron looks interesting. Love love your veggie garden.

    Btw..A small query..do you use any pesticides for your plants? I planted some basil in two pots. One pot is fine and in the second pot, all leaves are gone :((.

    no pesticides. no chemical fertilisers either.

  3. OhioMom on July 11, 2008 2:47 pm

    Love your garden pics !

  4. enjay on July 11, 2008 6:12 pm

    Love the first pic.

  5. Ricki on July 11, 2008 6:29 pm

    This sounds just wonderful–aromatic and light. And that photo of the hand holding the peas–stunning!

  6. Cham on July 11, 2008 7:41 pm

    Oh Bee, u r maintaining well your garden, Such a pleasure to cook the veg right from the backyard! Awesome pictures, i love the first one!

  7. Sonu on July 11, 2008 8:03 pm

    pixs are nice as usual.
    Sonu:)

  8. shankari on July 11, 2008 11:30 pm

    What a pleasure to grow your own veggies and herbs:) I just taught peas & carrots pulao yesterday at Kids camp and they loved it!

  9. sunshinemom on July 12, 2008 5:36 am

    I remember well my mom sending me to pluck the chawli or bring in the cauliflower right off the ground, into the kitchen for cooking! The flavors intact and more aromatic than any shop bought veggies - The first picture - It just reminds of someone dependable like my dad! That is meant to be a compliment, not to comment on age or anything - the first thing that struck me was the pea - so tiny and little in the hands that seemed to hold it so tenderly! Beautiful!

  10. Maryann on July 12, 2008 5:54 am

    Lovely peas, Bee.. and I like that first photo :)

  11. Uma on July 12, 2008 6:26 am

    What a delicious pulao! Awesome. The first pic is the highlight for sure.

  12. Jyothsna on July 12, 2008 8:28 am

    Mattarwale chawal look great!

  13. Dee on July 12, 2008 10:10 am

    Aw, bee , the more i read your gardening posts, the more i want to move out of this desert, the trees look brown here !! yes indeed, kashmiri saffron is far superior than the spanish one , love the peas pulao , das sreedharan introdduced me to it , until then i was making a pseudo peas pulao :)

  14. african vanielje on July 12, 2008 11:29 am

    As usual I love the pics, and the recipe sounds like pure fragrant temptation. I never seem to have that many peas by the time we get back to the house though. I have my own little pea bandit who snaffles them on the way. I can’t blame her though.

  15. Simona on July 12, 2008 12:56 pm

    Lovely pea dish. I like all the photos. The one of your dish feels like an explosion of flavors.

  16. Kalai on July 12, 2008 1:20 pm

    Amazing pics. Love the one of the pea pod on the plant! Peas pulao is one of my faves and this looks delicious! :)

  17. nags on July 12, 2008 5:34 pm

    ur site took ages to open.. i think its cuz of the chip-in widget. had this problem last time too..

  18. Jude on July 12, 2008 10:37 pm

    Thanks for the recipe. Pulao can easily go form side dish to main course if done right. The spice blends in pulao is great stuff.

  19. amar on July 13, 2008 7:36 am

    Love the 2nd picture

  20. Miri on July 14, 2008 5:35 am

    My favourite dish - simple and yet so flavourful! Thanks for posting

    Miri

  21. Shreya on July 14, 2008 9:53 am

    Hi, beautiful picture! Lovely recipe:-)

  22. Sameera on July 14, 2008 2:59 pm

    The peas pulao looks superb !
    And it is one of my all-time favorites…
    Im sure making it soon :) Yummmmy
    Best Rgds,
    Sam.
    http://www.foodiiee.blogspot.com

  23. Kalyn on July 14, 2008 9:07 pm

    I don’t know why, but I’ve never grown peas. (Too lazy to start the garden that early I think.) I really should do it because there is nothing more delicious than fresh peas right out of the pod. Love the sound of this dish.

  24. bhavani on July 15, 2008 7:59 pm

    beautiful pictures, as usual. particularly love the green arrow pea photograph.

  25. Aparna on July 18, 2008 7:17 am

    I used to be my mom’s “pea sheller” as a kid and half of it would end up in my tum!

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