Vegetable Polau in Tamarind Sauce

Sometimes the laziness takes over  and one feels like doing nothing : )  Actually I wanted to get up and make my breakfast today early at 9 am but then one after the other phone calls and then  answering my posts i was so caught up that it was nearly late afternoon.  So well no time for breaky left and I was also craving for rice so I got up and checked what all I had and then I just started to cook with a free mind and a hungry tummy : )

 

 I had kidney beans and maze cans in the store room, had paprika and green beans prepared in the freezer, had my bottles full of tamarind chutney in the fridge, well what more do I need then  :)

I used good spices in it and made a really “masala daar Poalu”

 What I did was nothing new just some twists and turn and there I had the yummiest Veg-Polau and I ate so much of it gosh I am sure I have put on 3-4 kilos in a day : (

 

What I did is:

Soaked 1 cup rice 

In the mean time I prepared the Vegetable Masala:

1 small can of maze (50 gram)

½ tin of red kidney beans (drain the water)

1 sliced red paprika

1 cup of frozen green beans

3 onions sliced

(yes I took quite a lot of onions deliberately)

3-4 green chilies

 

Spices:

1 ½ tsp salt and more to taste after adding the rice

½ tsp red chili flakes

½ tsp garam masala

¾ tsp cumin powder

1 tsp cloves

½ tsp black pepper corn

2-3 tbs of mixed pickle

4-6 tbs oil

*heat the oil and throw in the cloves and black pepper

*don’t let them burn, we need to get the strong aroma of the cloves

*add the onions and fry them till light brown not dark!

(because we have to add tamarind and that will give more color )

*as the onions are ready add in all the vegetables and mix and fry all

*now sprinkle all the spices one by one and keep mixing

*make slits in the chili and add that too

(I was wanting it to be more spicy somehow so I added pickle to it)

*add the pickle t and more in quantity if you like it hotter : )

*don’t cover as we need the Veg to be half done not fully cooked

*just keep stirring and drop in just few drops of water if it is too dry

*now drain the rice and add to the pot and mix all

*now you have to add the water so the rice can cook

I always have my tamarind chutney ready in bottles so I took:

*2 tbs of Chutney ( was a sweet sour one)

*1 ¼  glass of water

*Mix it well and pour onto the rice

Now taste the water, if you feel anything is less add it now before the rice starts to cook

*let the rice cook with the lid, as you see bubbles arise and water disappears set it on the dumm (steam) with a dry cloth, so the excess water will be absorbed

*keep it on the dumm for at least 10 minutes, then open the lid drop in 2 tbs of butter yummmz and sprinkle some garam masala and some 3-4 crushed cloves on the top and cover it again immediately

Take out the cloth in about 20 minutes, it is ready to eat!

 

The aroma you will get of this rice when it is ready is really different and hot

I ate it with my Sweet ‘n Sour tamarind chutney, you need nothing else with it, just  you, the spoon and the plate of this delish rice : )

 

Some points to note:

~When you fry the cloves in the oil, just do it for seconds, you will smell the strong aroma of cloves coming out in the oil and that’s what we need!

~When you add butter in the end with cloves that’s like the “jewel in the crown” You will feel this when you eat it :)

~When you add the pickle in it, you don’t need too many spices as that makes it already very spicy

~The rice may seem wet as you take away from the steam but it is normal, when you leave the pot uncovered for 5 minutes the extra steam evaporates.

Hope you try it and do share your opinion :)