‘Rice is all one but there are many ways of cooking it’.

Pulao or spiced and flavoured rice is easy to make depending on what spices are available. It is served as  a main course. This particular Pulao has chicken koftas made out of minced chicken and other ingredients which are blended together, shaped into balls and lightly fried in ghee. To keep the koftas moist and  tender, they are folded  into the rice delicately and remain so till it’s time to serve.

One of my favourite rice dishes- it never ceases to impress – guests or family. The flavour is so distinct because of the coconut paste that sometimes I just omit the koftas and make just the Pulao. Nothing can go wrong and each grain of rice is long and separate. Looks awesome too.  I use good quality basmati rice always so that the end result is satisfying and pleasing to the eye, above all the effort you put in has paid off. All are happy. I’m happy too.

An easy recipe to cook up with easily available ingredients:

Ingredients:

For the kofta:

• Minced chicken-500 GMs
• Minced onion- 1 small
• Ginger- garlic paste -1 tbsp
• Grated coconut- 2 tbsp
• Green chilli -3-4
• Turmeric powder-1 tsp
• Salt
• Lime juice-1 tbsp
• Mint leaves chopped- 2 tsp

For the Pulao:

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice-3 cups
• Onions- 2  (finely sliced and fried in ghee till golden brown)
• Ginger- garlic paste -2 tbsp
• Grated coconut -4-6 tsp
• Turmeric powder -1/2 tsp
• Curd – 4-5 tsp
• Cinnamon, cloves, cardamom- 4 each
• Ghee

Method:

For the Kofta:

• Mix all the ingredients for the kofta in a food processor.
• Shape into small balls and shallow fry till light brown. Keep aside.

For the Pulao:

• Wash and soak rice for 20 minutes. Drain.
• Heat ghee, add spices and ginger- garlic paste and fry well.
• Grind coconut along with curd and turmeric.
• Add coconut paste and fry well.
• Add 5 and a quarter cups of water, salt and bring to boil.
• Add rice and cook on a high flame for 3-4 minutes.
• Just before all the water is absorbed, add the koftas, mix well and switch off the flame.
• Keep it covered  for an hour.
• Sprinkle fried onions on top and serve hot.

Chefs tips:

•  Always use good quality rice for a good end result.
• For the koftas – if you prefer coriander leaves to mint, please do so.
• You could also substitute chicken mince for lamb mince. 
• If you want the koftas more spicy, you could add 1/2 a teaspoon of chilli powder to the mince mixture.
• Once the ghee is hot, place your koftas in the pan and do not keep turning them.
• After the koftas are cooked on one side, overturn the koftas carefully with the help of a spoon.
• Keep a close eye on the preparation once the rice has been added.
• The koftas are added just before the water is absorbed so that they can remain soft and moist once the dish is done.
• This serves 4-6 people.

Till my next post,

Cheers

Rose