Mint Rice

On our recent trip to NJ, our friend Latha gave us some home-grown cucumbers and a huge bag packed with Mint leaves. They have a nice garden with brinjals, bell peppers, chillies, cantaloupes, strawberries, tomatoes and so on but the mint plants however where growing like a weed so she asked me to help myself and take as much as possible and take, I did. Thank you Latha. I was already dreaming of Mint Rice and a cooling cucumber raitha to go with it.

This recipe is something my mom and I tried from the Mallika Badrinath cookbook, when in search of a quick lunch idea for Arun and ever since this has been made often. As usual some changes were made and I incorporated more vegetables than the recipe called for to make it more wholesome.

MINT RICE / PULAV

Ingredients:

Basmathi Rice - 1 cup

Peas - 1/4 cup

Carrots - 1/4 cup, julienned

Beans - 1/4 cup, trimmed and julienned

Cauliflower - 1/2 cup, small florets

Onions - 1, sliced into 1 inch pieces

Oil - 2 tsp

Ghee - 1 tsp

Cloves - 1

Bay Leaf - 1 small

Cinnamon - 1 inch piece

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

To Grind:

Mint Leaves - 2 to 3 cups, de-stalked and washed

Ginger - 1/2 inch piece

Green chillies - 7 to 8

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Grated coconut - 3 to 4 tbsp

Method:

1) Pressure cook Basmati rice with 1.75 cups of water and about 1/2 tsp of salt. Allow to cool and separate the grains.

2) In about 1/2 tsp of oil, fry ginger, green chillies, turmeric powder and mint leaves. Allow to cool lightly and grind with coconut.

3) Par-boil the carrots, peas, beans and cauliflower with some salt and 2-3 tbsp of water in the microwave for 5 mins.

4) Heat the rest of the oil + 1 tsp ghee and fry the cinnamon, clove, cumin and bay leaf. Add the sliced onions and let brown. Next add the parboiled vegetables and saute till they get cooked

5) Now add the ground mint paste and garam masla, fry for about 3 to 5 minutes before adding the cooled rice and salt as required. After about 5-10 minutes, switch off the stove, cover with a lid and let the rice rest for about 10 to 15 minutes so the flavors can absorb. Serve with raitha and chips.