Palow Rice Recipes

PULAO RECIPE | VEG PULAO

Steps:

• Rinse rice till the water runs clear of starch and become transparent while rinsing.
• Soak the rice in enough water for 30 minutes. Drain all the water and keep the soaked rice aside.
• Rinse, peel and chop the vegetables.
• Crush chopped ginger, garlic and green chillies to a paste in a mortar-pestle or grind them in a small mixer or grinder with a bit of water.
• In a deep thick bottomed pot or pan, heat ghee or oil and fry all the whole spices mentioned above, till the oil becomes fragrant and the spices splutter.
• Add the onions and saute them till golden. Saute the onions on a low to medium-low flame and stir often for uniform browning.
• Add the ginger-garlic-green chili paste and saute for some seconds till their raw aroma goes away.
• Add the tomatoes and saute for 2 to 3 minutes on a low to medium-low flame.
• Add all the chopped veggies and saute again for 1 to 2 minutes on a low to medium-low flame.
• Add rice and saute gently for 1 to 2 minutes on a low or medium-low flame, so that the rice gets well coated with the oil.
• Add water and lemon juice. Mix and stir.
• Season with salt and stir again.
• Cover tightly and let the rice cook on a low flame, till the water is absorbed and the rice is well cooked.
• Check in between a few times to check if the water is enough. Depending on the quality of rice, you may need to add less or more water. With a fork too, you can gently stir the rice without breaking the rice grains.
• Once the rice grains are cooked, fluff and let the rice stand for 5 minutes.
• Serve pulao hot with some side salad, sliced onion & lemon wedges or raita. You can also garnish it with chopped coriander or mint leaves or fried cashews or fried onions.

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH QABILI PALAO RICE

Steps:

• For the lamb shanks: Place the lamb in a pressure cooker and cover with water by about 2 inches. Add the coriander, garlic, turmeric, plum tomatoes, onions, cilantro and 1 1/2 teaspoons each salt and pepper. Cook at 250 degrees F for about 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Release the steam in the pressure cooker, then carefully open it and transfer the lamb to a large pot along with about 2 1/2 cups of lamb juice. Reserve the remaining juice for the rice.
• Add the canned tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato paste, crushed red pepper, paprika and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper; mix thoroughly. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, adding lamb juice as needed so it doesn't dry out.
• For the qabili palao rice: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Boil the rice in water until tender, about 10 minutes. Strain and return to the pot.
• Mix together the reserved lamb stock, oil and saffron water in a bowl and pour over the rice. Add the Seven-Spice Mixture, cardamom pods and saffron; mix thoroughly. Cover with foil and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
• For the rice topping: Meanwhile, bring 1/2 cup water to a boil in a pan. Add the carrots and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the raisins, almonds and pistachios if using, oil, sugar, ground cardamom and saffron; mix well. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Place about half of the rice on a platter and arrange the lamb shanks on top. Cover with the remaining rice and top with the carrot mixture.
• Mix together the black pepper, black cardamom, green cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander and cumin in a bowl.

POLOW (PERSIAN RICE WITH PISTACHIOS AND DILL)

Steps:

• Using lid of pot as guide, trace circle on parchment paper and cut out. Set aside.
• In large bowl, rinse rice in several changes of cold water until water runs clear. Drain well.
• In pot over moderately high heat, combine 4 quarts cold water, rice, and salt. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to moderate and boil, uncovered, 5 minutes. Drain well.
• In small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup warm water and saffron until dissolved.
• Transfer 1 cup cooked rice to medium bowl and stir in yogurt and 1 tablespoon saffron water (reserve remaining saffron water).
• In cleaned pot over moderately low heat, melt butter. Add rice-yogurt mixture, smoothing into flat layer. Top with 1/2 of remaining rice. Sprinkle with 1/2 of dill and pistachios and top with 1/2 of remaining rice, mounding loosely. Sprinkle with remaining dill and pistachios and top with remaining rice, mounding loosely into pyramid. Using round handle of wooden spoon, make 5 or 6 holes in rice to bottom of pot and pour in remaining saffron water.
• Cover rice with prepared parchment paper round then with lid and steam, undisturbed, until tender and crust forms on bottom, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Spoon loose rice onto platter without disturbing bottom crust. Dip bottom of pan into large bowl of cold water 30 seconds to loosen crust. Using spatula or wooden spoon, lift crust and transfer atop rice.

TRINIDAD PELAU

Steps:

• Cook sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat until it begins to caramelize. Stir in the beef, and cook until well browned. Bring the water, coconut milk, rice, pigeon peas, and carrot to a simmer; cover and cook until rice is done, about 25 minutes. Stir in parsley to garnish.

CHICKEN YAKHNI PULAO

Steps:

• Wash the rice in several changes of cold running water until the water runs clear, then place in a bowl and soak for 30 minutes in more fresh cold water with 1⁄2 teaspoon salt.
• In a frying pan (skillet), heat the oil over a medium-high heat. Add the sliced onions to the pan and fry gently, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and caramelized. Using a slotted spoon, remove the onions from the oil, leaving as much of the oil in the pan as possible to cook the chicken, and place on a plate to drain. Spread the onions across the plate so they crisp as they cool.
• Keeping the heat on medium-high, add the chicken to the pan and sear it on all sides. Return half the caramelized onions to the pan.
• To make the spice bag, place the spices in a piece of cheesecloth or muslin and knot the corners securely together so the bag does not open during cooking process.
• Add the spice bag to the pan. Pour over enough cold water to cover the chicken and add 2 1⁄4 tsp salt. Bring the water to the boil, then lower the heat, cover with a lid and leave to cook for 20 minutes. After 10 minutes, check the chicken to make sure it is not falling apart.
• Once the chicken is cooked, using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the chicken from the pan and place on a plate, trying to keep the meat on the bone.
• For the yakhni, you will need approximately twice the volume of stock to rice (so 4 cups of stock to 2 cups of rice). If you have more than 4 cups, reduce the stock. If you have less than 4 cups, add some water.
• Return the 4 cups of stock to the pan. Drain the rice and add to the pan, together with the chicken and green chiles, if using. Place the pan over a medium-high heat. Leaving the spice bag in the pan, bring the stock to the boil. Once boiling, lower the heat, cover with a lid, and leave to simmer. Check the pan often to see if the stock has been absorbed, but that the rice still retains some bite.
• At this point, remove the rice pan from the direct heat and reduce the heat to low. Place the rice pan on a tawa (flat iron griddle pan), or the closest thing you have to a tawa-an iron plate or a flat pan-to diffuse the heat. Leave the rice pan on the tawa over a low heat for 10 minutes. Alternatively, place the rice pan in a preheated low oven for 10 minutes.
• Once the pan has been removed from the heat source, cover the top of the pan with a dish towel and leave it undisturbed for 10 minutes.
• Check the rice-there should be no liquid at the edges of the pan-and gently run a fork through to lift and separate the grains. To serve, garnish with the remaining caramelized onions and sprigs of mint.