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Ingredients
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Quantity
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Long grain Indian basmati rice
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1 cup
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Salt
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to taste
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Saffron strands
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¼ tsp
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Bay leaf
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1
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Cinnamon stick(2”)
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2 pieces
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Green cardamoms
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4
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Paneer (cottage cheese )- cut in 1 cm cubes
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15 to 20 pieces
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Raisins
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1/3 cup
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Cashew nuts
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10
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Hot milk
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a little
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Ghee or clarified butter
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2 tbsp
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Oil
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for frying
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Wash rice thoroughly and soak in water for half an hour. Drain
thoroughly.
Soak saffron in a little hot milk for about 15 minutes, until milk
is a deep orange-yellow color. You may vary the quantity of saffron, depending
upon it's quality. If the quality is not very good, you may need a little more
saffron to achieve this color and vice versa.
Heat oil in a wok. Fry the cashew nuts until golden. Drain and set
aside. Next, fry the paneer cubes, until light golden, drain and set aside.
In a pan, heat ghee or clarified butter. Add the bay leaf,
cardamom and cinnamon.
Add the rice. Add salt. Stir until ghee coats every grain of rice
and rice looks glossy.
Add warm water. Bring to a boil. Add the raisins. Stir once.
Reduce heat to minimum and cover the pan with a lid. Leave a
little gap, otherwise water will boil over.
When holes appear on the surface and water has almost evaporated,
lightly fork in the paneer cubes. Sprinkle the saffron liquid on top.
When water has completely evaporated, fork the rice out onto a
serving dish. This will separate each grain out. This rice will have a
beautiful mix of white and yellow and half colored grains.
