Kesar Pilau (Saffron Rice and Vegetables)
When I finished making this dish I said to myself, “I think I just made biryani.” Well. Almost. Click here–> for a little essay by Meenal Mehta on the difference between pilau/pulao and biryani. Meenal’s blog is also the original source for the Naughty Curry adaptation that I used. The basic difference between the Naughty Curry recipe and Meenal’s version is quantity.
I am cutting and pasting the recipe here for my own reference, without edits. I hope that is OK, and if not and they find this post, I hope they are gentle with me. (If flattery will help I will say truthfully that Naughty Curry is a fabulous site for a non-Indian beginner, as they assume you need to be told what to do, step by step. Plus they are funny as hell!)
I followed this recipe to a “T” and did not regret it.* The flavor was incredible: gentle enough for a child’s tender tongue; yet complex enough for grown ups in search of culinary transcendence. This recipe is a total keeper as a weekly meal.
Kesar Pilau
(with deepest gratitude to Naughty Curry’s adaptation of Meenal’s recipe.)
1 cup rice
2 cups water
2 green cardamom pods, bonked slightly open
2 whole cloves
a pinch of saffron threads, dissolved in 1 tsp water
1/3 cup mixed cashews, almonds and golden raisins
1 tsp oil, then 1 tsp later
1/3 cup frozen mixed diced vegetables or peas, thawed
salt
In a medium-sized skillet, heat the oil until it is sizzle-hot. Add the whole cloves, cardamom pods, and half of the raisin-nut mixture.
When the cashews are golden-brown, add the rice, 2 cups water, saffron water and salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.
In a small skillet, heat 1 tsp oil and roast the remaining nuts with the mixed vegetables. When the nuts are golden-brown, pour the pan’s contents over the cooked rice. Done.
*I usually mess with recipes because either I think I am smarter than the cook or I don’t have the right spices. I am learning really fast that thinking I am smarter than the cook is not a good idea with unfamiliar spices and cooking methods (I’ll be posting about my idiotic errors with curry leaves in my next post!) I am also beginning to collect a pretty good base of Indian spices for a masala dabba: an Indian spice container. Now all I need is the dabba, which I plan to pull together by finding just the right tin can at a thrift store: into which I will then place my Indian spices.
