Vegetable pulav

Here is an awfully simple recipe of vegetable pulav:

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice : 2 cups
• Organic vegetable broth : 3 1/2 cups
• Cauliflower florets : 1 cup
• Carrots : 1 cup cut lengthwise
• Green peas : 1/2 cup
• Corn : 1/2 cup
• Green beans : 1 cup cut lengthwise
• Onion : 2 cups cut thin lengthwise
• Cashews : 1/2 cup
• Lime : 1/2 juiced
• Butter : 2 tbsp
• Oil : 1 tbsp
• Biryani masala : 2 tbsp
• Tandoori masala : 1 tbsp
• Salt : to taste

Method:

• Rinse rice and set it aside for 10 minutes.
• Heat 1 tbsp butter in a sauce pan and roast rice for about 5 minutes or until the water in the rice dries out.
• Add vegetable broth to rice and on medium flame cook it covered for about 7-8 minutes or until rice is almost cooked.
• Continue cooking rice uncovered for about 2 minutes. Transfer rice to a plate and spread it out to cool down.
• In a wok, heat 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp butter and fry onions till crisp. Remove onions and set aside.
• Add cashews and fry till golden brown. Remove cashews and set aside.
• Add cauliflower florets,green beans and carrots in the wok and toss. 
• Cook it covered for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are semi-cooked.
• Add peas and corn and continue cooking covered for approx 5 minutes. Make sure the vegetables are still crunchy and not over cooked.
• Add biryani masala, tandoori masala and a pinch of salt to the vegetables and mix.
• Add cooled rice to the wok and mix gently.
• Add half of the crisp onions and half of the cashews and mix gently.
• Add lime juice and more salt if needed.
• Cover and cook on simmer for another 5 minutes allowing the favors to mix.
• Top it with remaining onions and cashews.

Serve hot.

Notes:

• Vegetable broth - if store bought contains sodium. Sometimes dry masalas contain salt too. So add salt to pulav considering these additions.
• When mixing rice with vegetables, care should be taken that the vegetables or rice grains are not crushed.