Swaadista

Ingredients

• 200g of mushrooms (I used 100g each of beech + maitake mushrooms. Feel free to use any of choice)
• 100g green peas, fresh or frozen
• 2.5 cups of jeera samba rice
• 3.5 cups of water
• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil or any cooking oil
• Whole spices( 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, 4 cloves, 3-4 green cardamom,1 inch cinnamon, 2 bay leaves, 1/2 tsp black stone flower)
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• Green chilies to taste, slit
• 1.5 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
• 3 medium tomatoes, sliced
• A handful of chopped coriander leaves
• A handful of chopped mint leaves
• powdered spices(1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tbsp of Kashmiri red chili powder, 2 tsp coriander powder, ¾ tsp or more of garam masala)
• Salt

Directions

1. Prep the mushrooms: wash them, then sprinkle with salt and turmeric powder. Rinse thoroughly, cut into desired-sized slices if needed, Hey hey and keep aside.
2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker on medium heat. Add all the whole spices – fennel seeds, cloves, green cardamom, black stone flower, cinnamon, bay leaves. Sauté them on low heat for a few seconds until they become aromatic.
3. Add sliced onion, sauté until onion is light brown. Then add ginger-garlic paste, sauté for a couple of minutes until the raw smell no longer exists.
4. Add Powdered Spices: Add the powdered spices – turmeric, red chili, coriander powder, and garam masala. Sauté them for a few seconds on low heat. Add sliced tomatoes Sprinkle salt over them cover and cook on low heat until they soften.
5. Add Vegetables: Add mushrooms and green peas, stir and cook covered for 2-3 minutes on medium heat.
6. Add Rice: Add rice, slit green chilies (optional) and water, stir and allow the water to come to a boil.
7. Adjust taste: Taste for salt and other spaces and adjust if necessary. Cover the pressure cook and cook until two whistles on medium heat. allow the pressure to release naturally.
8. Garnish and Serve: Give the rice a gentle mix and serve with raita. Enjoy!

Recipe Video

Notes

– Feel free to add salt and spices according to your taste and preference.
– Including a tablespoon or two of yogurt/curd while making the masala enhances the flavors.
– Generally, white rice requires 2 times of water to cook perfectly. But here we are using less water since mushrooms release some water while cooking. So check and add water.
– You can store pulao in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat before consuming.