Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 30 min
Serves: 2

Ingredients: (measuring cup used = 240ml)

1. 1 cup rice (I have used sona masuri)
2. 1 cup fresh green peas (or frozen)
3. 2.5 cups water
4. 1/2 finger length cinnamon
5. 5 - 6 cloves
6. 1 tsp cumin seeds
7. 1 tsp fennel seeds
8. 1 bay leaf
9. 1 star anise
10. 2 petals of mace / japatre (optional)
11. 2 cardamoms
12. Little stone flower
13. 5 - 6 cashews broken
14. 1 onion
15. A small handful of pudina or mint leaves
16. A small handful of coriander leaves
17. 2 tbsp oil
18. 1 spoon ghee
19. Salt as per your taste

Ingredients for grinding: (measuring cup used = 240ml)

1. 1 onion
2. 2 cm length ginger
3. 8 - 10 cloves garlic
4. 3 - 4 green chillies

Instructions for making green peas pulao:

1. Rinse the rice and soak it for 10 minutes.
2. Grind onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies into a paste by adding required water.
3. Collect all dry spices like cumin, fennel seeds, bay leaf, star anise, mace, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and stone flower.
4. Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add all the dry spices. Fry them until cashews turn slightly brown.
5. Add in finely chopped or sliced onion.
6. Also add fesh green peas. Fry until onions turn soft.
7. Add chopped pudina (mint) leaves and coriander leaves. Fry until leaves turn soft.
8. Add the prepared paste from step 2.
9. Stir and bring it to a boil untill raw smell is gone.
10. Add the remaining water and bring it to boil. I have used 2.5 cups of water including grinding.
11. Add the soaked and rinsed rice.
12. Add salt as per taste.
13. Add the ghee. Ghee enhances the aroma and gives a rich taste.
14. Boil it well for a minute.
15. Close the lid and make 2 whistles.
16. Wait until the pressure subsides.
17. Serve it hot. You can pak it for the school or office as well.

Dear reader, We have a Kannada version of this recipe. Click here to read this recipe in Kannada.