Sweet Pulao

A simple, quick and easy pulao, typical Mangalorean wedding style, made slightly sweet & garnished with caramalized onions, raisins & cashewnuts is the perfect dish on your festive table!

Course Rice

Cuisine Mangalorean

Keyword Gluten Free, Pulao, Rice

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Total Time 40

Servings

Calories 362kcal

Author Shireen Sequeira @www.ruchikrandhap.com

Ingredients

2 cups Basmati rice washed & soaked for about 15-20mins
4 cups water freshly boiled

For the garnishing:

2 large onions thinly sliced
1/2 cup cashew nut halves cleaned
1/2 cup raisins cleaned
3-4 cardamoms
3-4 cloves
1 inch cinnamon or cassia bark
1 bay leaf
3-4 tablespoons white granulated * see notes
salt to taste approx 2 teaspoons of table salt - but adjust to taste
Ghee or oil for frying the onions and ghee to fry the rice.

Instructions

Prepare the onions for garnishing by heating ghee or oil in a wok or pan and frying the sliced onions till golden brown. Take care not to burn them. Use a slotted spoon to drain them and place them on an absorbent kitchen tissue. You may also deep fry the onions (see notes for the same.)
Fry the cashew nuts till golden brown and remove. Repeat with the raisins but don't fry them too long, just until they puff up, then remove. See notes before proceeding to the next step.
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the salt and sugar to taste and keep it simmering and ready.
Add some more ghee if required, fry the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaf on a medium low heat and take care that they don't burn. When you get a nice aroma add the washed and drained rice & fry for about 1-2 minutes (or until the ladle begins to feels heavy - if you continue stirring beyond this point the rice will begin to break)5. Add the freshly boiled water and check the taste. You should get a fine balance of sweet and salty. Adjust the sugar and salt quickly if required and then bring the mixture to a rolling boil.
When the mixture is boiling quickly cover the pan with an airtight lid or aluminium foil so that no steam can escape. Reduce the heat to a simmer (sim) and cook for 5 minutes (keep an alarm!)
Once 5 minutes are up, turn off the heat and let the pan sit undisturbed. Don't open the lid at all! Set the alarm for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, open the pan and gently fluff up the rice using a fork. Cover for half a minute.
10. Garnish with fried onions, raisins & cashew nuts & serve hot with plum chutney

Notes

1. For best results use long grain basmati rice. The older the rice, better the taste and less mushy it will be 2. Use only white granulated sugar for pure white pulao. 3. Take care not to burn the onions or raisins and cashewnuts if you are frying them before you fry the rice (assuming you are using a single pan for all jobs). Burning of ingredients imparts a dull/darkish colour to the ghee and will lead to pulao that is not white in colour. If the pan indeed has burnt ghee, transfer it to a bowl, wipe clean the pan with a kitchen tissue and proceed to fry the rice in fresh ghee.

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