Peas Pilaf

ever heard of a peas pilaf made of peas only?

people mostly eat pilaf on special occasion due to high content of fat and carbs to it, however i will show you today a pilaf which is not high in fat and it tastes yummy too

gather your ingredients

for pilaf

1 cup (250 grams) rice

1 large onion sliced

2 green cardamoms

1 black cardamom

1 inch cinnamon stick

1 tsp cumin seeds

half cup (125 grams) peas

salt to taste

for salad (Indian style)

1 cucumber

1 tomato

1 lemon

1 onion

salt pepper

chop your veggies so that your salad gets ready

add your onions in 3 tablespoons oil. add your cardamoms, cinamon, cumin..

fry onions till very light brown and fragrant.

add your peas ( if you are using frozen ones, it will take a few minutes to half cook them , however if you are using fresh DON'T wait longer as they get soft rather quickly)

once the peas get half cooked, add your rice and adjust water

generally we use rule of finger while cooking rice.. for sela rice ( or basmati rice) if you have soaked sela rice for 1 hour or basmati rice for 15 minutes we use half finger length for adding water.

dip your finger into the water and check the height until you reach the tip of rice.. if it reaches the 1st line of your index finger. you need to add a little more water until it reaches half of your second line of index finger. ( please refer the pictures for information.. )

please DON'T ADD excess of water all together because it will result in throwing the tasty juices present in the water to achieve the desired amount.

alot increase the water gradually.

if your rice are soaked more then the given time reduce the amount of your water.

e.g if you soaked the rice for more then 30 minutes ( basmati rice) make your water height upto first line of index finger.

Add salt according to your taste. You need to check the water flavor, the saltiness should be just right. ( this will be your first stir of rice. keep in mind that if you want your rice to be in perfect state you only need to give three stirs )

bring it to a boil on high flame. give second stir to distribute the peas and salt and then cover with a lid.

keep your eye on the watch ( clock)

after 5 -7 minutes lightly move your lid to check it the water has reached the level of rice yet or not.

if it hasn't , give it a few more minutes.

if it has then take a spoon and check the rawness of rice, when u eat the rice:

it should reach either of the three stages.

very raw (it means that your quality of rice need more soaking. soak them for more time then usual)

what to do??? lower the heat,cover it up with a lid, place a hot plate or a roti tawa under the pan give it that last stir

and cook on very low heat for a very long time.

almost cooked but with lots of water ( it means your rice don't need this much water height , reduce the amount of water)

what to do??? dry the water up over very high flame uncovered after you have stired the rice the very last time making sure not to break the rice apart.

right amount of water, and almost done . ( congratulations your have mastered the cooking of indian style pilaf)

what to do??stir the rice. uncover the lid and dry the water up on medium high flame.

serve your rice in a hotpot until ready to eat.