Indian Peas Pulao

A delicious recipe for traditional Indian peas pulao from the Sophisticated Gourmet food blog. Simple. Sophisticated. Delicious.

Today, when I arrived home from school I was craving some Indian food, but I wanted something quick, simple, and tasty- “A sandwich would be suffice,” I thought to myself. I went through the kitchen cupboards and the refrigerator pulling out ingredients necessary to make homemade cashew butter. I was intentionally going to make some cashew butter from scratch (for a cashew butter and strawberry jelly sandwich). Then, I decided that I didn’t want a CB & J. I wanted Indian Peas Pulao

Heck, it’s my birthday, I should at least reward myself with something warm and appetizing. So, I took out all of the necessary ingredients for a quick, easy, and appetizing Indian dish- Indian Peas Pulao (aka Pulav or Pilaf).
This dish is made with Basmati Rice, Green Peas, and several aromatic spices that permeate the air creating a homey-feeling especially on a rainy day.
This recipe is a morph of several different Indian Peas Pulao recipes that I have made.

INGREDIENTS for Indian Peas Pulao:
Salt
1 cup of Basmati Rice
1½ cups of water (not including the water needed to wash the rice)
1/2 cup of frozen green peas
2 cloves
1 teaspoon of coriander powder
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper powder
1 star anise
1 tablespoon of ghee (clarified butter); you can use canola oil instead
1 small onion finely chopped
1 teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste
1½ teaspoons of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of cumin powder
2 chili peppers, slit lengthwise (optional)

PROCEDURE:
Soak the Basmati rice in water for 15 – 30 minutes.

Clean the Basmati rice in several changes of water (until the water is clear).

In a pressure cooker (you can use a pan with a lid), heat the ghee. Then add the cumin seeds. Once the cumin seeds pop, add the chili peppers, the ginger-garlic paste, cinnamon, bay leaves, cloves and star anise.

Add the onions, and sauté them for a minute. Add the black pepper powder, coriander powder, and cumin powder, sautéing the onions until they become translucent.

Add the frozen peas. Sauté for a minute. Then, quickly add the rice and fry it for about a minute.

Add salt to taste.

Add the water and mix well.

Close the lid of the pressure cooker (or pan) & let it cook on a medium flame.

When the rice is completely cooked, turn the stove off and fluff the rice.

Cook’s Notes:
* If you’d like, you can avoid using the cumin powder, coriander powder, and black pepper powder to have a much simpler taste.
* The time required to cook this meal is around 20 – 25 minutes (I don’t really time it)