Savoury

Masoor, Spinach + Mint Pulao

This is a delightful one-pot meal which has all the required components, takes less than 15 minutes of prep, 15 to 20 minutes cook time, and a delicious. aroma will fill your kitchen, home and entice even the kids to run to the table.

This is a perfect option for those #WFH and balancing all duties and responsibilities, and also for those caring for covid patients at home – you get protein, fibre, carbs and greens in one go. Pair it with plain yoghurt for it’s healthy bac for the stomach.

Rice and I are first lovers and I always look for unique ways to make it. Perhaps it is the leftover habit from college, where rice was easier to make in a rice cooker, no nonsense of kneading dough and rolling it out and looking for a flame gas to ‘fulavo’ the roti! But rice to me, is the blank slate that I can build up on any way I like, depending on my mood – soya sauce, fried egg, chilies, and garlic or garam masala and coriander with potatoes or italian spices with lots of tomatoes and mushrooms….

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The Recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup masoor dal (brown), uncooked, soaked in water for 2-3 hours, rinsed
  • 1 cup rice, uncooked, soaked in water for 2-3 hours, rinsed
  • 1 big onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp green chili – ginger – garlic paste
  • 2-3 cups spinach, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp ghee
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 inch cinnamon stick
  • 2 green cardamom, bruised up
  • 8 cloves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 mace
  • 4-5 whole black peppercorns (aakha mari)
  • ½ cup chopped mint leaves
  • 2 tsp salt
  • Temper:
  • 1 tbsp ghee
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 10 mint leaves fresh

Instructions

  • Heat ghee in a deep pot
  • Add the star anise, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom, cloves and bay leaf with onions and let cook on low heat until fragrant
  • Then add the cumin seeds and green chili, ginger and garlic paste and sauté
  • Then add turmeric powder, coriander-cumin powder and sauté for a few minutes
  • Then add the spinach and salt and sauté for a few seconds
  • Add the dal and rice and stir to coat with all the masala
  • Add water to cover the mixture, with a bit more (approx. 2 cm)
  • Add the mint on top
  • Cover and let cook for 15-20 minutes or so until the rice and dal has cooked through and water has been completely absorbed
  • While the rice is resting, temper the ghee with garlic – allow the garlic to turn red and fragrant and then add the mint leaves to fry
  • Pour over the rice
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