Weekend’s gone by. Even a Monday’s gone by. And this is what I made for dinner on Monday – my version of the tricolor pulao. I think other versions use chickpeas instead of sweet corn to add protein to make it a complete dish. But since I already had a chicken side dish, I decided to go all veg with this one :-). This dish is especially useful for those days when you don’t want to spend too long cooking and can use up frozen stuff.
What you’ll need (2-3 servings):
- 1.5 cups of Basmati or any other long grained rice – washed and drained
- 3 cups water
- 1 lime
- 1/3 cup each of frozen green peas, sweet corn, diced carrot
- ½ a big onion sliced finely
- 2 red chillies chopped ( you can also use green)
- 4 garlic cloves chopped finely
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp garam masala
- salt to taste
What you’re going to do:
1. Heat a heavy bottomed pan and add the ghee. When melted, add the jeera. Once it splutters, add the bay leaf, torn into two.
2. Add the onions and fry till they are nice and brown.
3. Add the garlic and fry till the raw smell disappears. Add the veggies, turmeric, garam masala and fry for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the rice and fry for 2 minutes. Then add the water and salt.
5. Squeeze the lime juice into the water. Bring up the heat and then turn it down once the water begins to boil. Cover and cook till all the water has been absorbed, stirring once or twice in between.
Voila! Your tricolor pulao is ready!
I love this dish because of how mildly spiced it is and yet, so colorful. It is perfect with a spicy paneer/chicken dish and a cooling cucumber raita. Mmm….yummy and healthy dinner!! And here’s one more thing – this dish is preschooler certified!!
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