Shevid Pulao/Pilaf/Pulos

Shiveet is dill weed in farsi. This Pulao is traditionally made with black eyed peas (alasande/alasandalu) and dill weed. I substituted lentils for black eyed peas as i did not have them on hand. A very aromatic item. When you cook this, you will get hungrier just by smelling the aroma. I feel like Tom from Tom and Jerry cartoons, floating to the kitchen with the aroma, if you can picture what i am saying. A complete one pot meal and it will certainly make your guests go mmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!! Just by smelling it. Easy to cook and certain to impress, you will be a hit when you make this pulao for your friends and family... here goes the recipe.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Servings: 3 to 4

Ingredients:

1. Lentils dry - 3/4 cup

2. Raw basmati rice - 1 cup

3. Onions - 1 big, thinly sliced

4. Garlic - 2 pods grated or minced or 1 tsp paste

5. Ginger - 1 inch piece grated or 1 tsp paste

6. Fresh mint - 1 tbsp, finely chopped

7. Coriander - a handful, finely chopped

8. Cinnamon - 1/2 tsp powder or 1/2 inch stick

9. Cardamom - 3 popped, with the skin. just open it by pressing hard on the top, the bud must be open.

10. Clove - 3 pods or less than 1/4 tsp powder

11. Fennel powder - 1/2 tsp

12. Bay leaf - 2 

13. Cashew or Pistachio or Almonds- broken about 1 tbsp (optional)

14. Potato - Medium sized, sliced about 1/2 cm thick. (optional)

15. Oil - 2 tbsp

16. Salt - to taste

17. Pepper powder - 1 tsp or to taste

17. Water - 2 1/2 to 3 cups (depends on kind of basmati and how long lentils soaked)

Method:

1. Wash and soak lentils for atleast 3 hours or soak them in very hot water for 1/2 hour. Wash and soak rice with 1 tsp salt for half hour.

2. Heat oil in a big pot on medium heat. Add cinnamon, clove, cardamom, fennel and bay leaf and saute for a few seconds.

3. Add onions with a little salt, saute for a few seconds, put the lid on and let it get golden brown.

4. Now add the nuts if you are using any or all of them and saute till they get slightly brown.

5. Add ginger, garlic and mint and saute for a few seconds. Add sufficient salt and pepper for the whole dish and mix in well. Keep in mind that rice was also soaked with salt.

6. Add dill and saute till it wilts.

7. Drain rice and lentils, add them and saute for a few seconds so that oil coats the rice and lentils well. Be sure to do it gently, so that you break as little basmati grains as possible.

8. In a another vessel or in a rice cooker, layer potatoes on bottom and side and spoon out the pulao mixture into this vessel.

9. Add water and chopped cilantro/coriander to the vessel and cook it till well done and pulao is ready to eat.

Serving Suggestions:

It is aromatic and slightly bland. So you can jazz it up by serving a vegetable  or NV korma or raita on side. I eat it just the way it is with home made yogurt.

For NV and Andhra recipes, please visit, my pal Sruthi's Blog...

Tips:

1. It will be good to cook this in a rice cooker, rice cooks well this way. You can add about 1/2 cup less water in rice cooker. It generally depends on how much your basmati rice absorbs water. So use water accordingly.

2. If you cook on the stove, cover the vessel half way through and cook for 20 minutes. After 20 mins, just stick a fork or spoon to the bottom of the vessel, if it feels dry and like potatoes\ rice is sticking to the bottom, turn the stove off.

3. Let it cool for 15 minutes with the lid open, this will ensure the rice does not get sticky. Take a big serving platter in which all of pulao will fit in, and reverse the vessel of pulao in it. In order to do so, Cover the vessel with serving platter, hold both vessel's mouth and platter together with a cloth so you don't burn your hand and invert the vessel. Pat the vessel and the platter on a flat surface and lift the vessel up. You will see, the pulao comes out in the shape of the vessel, makes it look beautiful to serve like that. Before you serve it, make sure you you mix it well.