Navratan pulao

Navratan (meaning nine gems) pulao is a rich and tasty dish that can be prepared in under an hour. So long as you use high quality long grain basmati rice, you can opt for any nine vegetables/nuts of choice. This is particularly helpful if you have fussy children! Although it sounds counter-intuitive to add fruit to a savory dish, please do not avoid it – this is what adds to the flavour. 

You can also prepare this pulao with leftover rice. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can use a saucepan as well, by adding two cups of water for every cup of rice. 

Ingredients

Rice, 1 ½ cup

Oil, ¼ cup

Ghee, 2 tbs

Potato (cubed), 1 no.

Carrot diced, 1 no. or 50 g

French beans (chopped to ¾-inch size), 100 g

Fresh green peas, 50 g 

Paneer, 100 g (room temperature)

Capsicum (chopped 1-inch size), ½ piece

Onion (sliced), 1 no. or 120 g

Almond, 15 nos.

Cashews, 20 nos.

Raisins, 2 tbs

Cumin seeds, ½ tsp

Ginger, 1 tsp

Garlic (finely chopped), 1 tsp

Lime juice, 1 tbs

Water, (1 ¾ cup for every cup of rice)

Salt, ¾ tbs

Bay leaf, 1 no.

Cardamom, 3 pods

Cloves, 4 nos.

Cinnamon, 2 pieces (1 inch)

Pepper corns, 5 pieces

Garam masala, ½ tsp

Saffron, ¼ tsp

Milk, 2 tbs

Red apple (cut into small pieces), ½ an apple

Preparation

• Wash the rice 4 to 5 times and soak in water for 25 minutes.
• After 25 minutes, strain the rice and set aside.
• Soak the saffron in milk and set aside.
• If your paneer is frozen, soak the paneer 20 minutes in room temperature water.
• Heat ghee in a pan and roast the nuts separately, on low flame then transfer to a bowl.
• Add the oil to the remaining ghee, add half part of the onion and fry over a medium flame until golden brown; then transfer to a bowl.
• Add potato and roast for two minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
• Add the paneer and sauté for two minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Transfer to a bowl.
• Add cumin seeds to the same oil and sauté until it starts to pop.
• Add bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and sauté until it turns aromatic.
• Add ginger, garlic, and sauté for a few seconds until fragrant.
• Add remaining onion and sauté until it turns translucent
• Add remaining vegetables, garam masala and sauté for two minutes.
• Add rice and sauté for another two minutes.
• Add water, salt, lemon juice, and stir until it boils.
• Transfer this to a pressure cooker, then add the paneer and potato. Keep the pressure cooker closed until the rice is cooked (generally one whistle).
• Once the pressure releases, carefully open the pressure cooker and add apple. Gently mix without breaking the rice.
• Finally add fried onion and roasted nuts. Evenly sprinkle saffron milk.
• Cover the pressure cooker without the weight, and let it simmer for five minutes.
• After five minutes, open the pressure cooker and mix gently.
• Keep closed for five minutes. Your delicious pulao is ready! Enjoy with raita, pickle and pappadam.

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