Carrot Pulao

I went with “Pulao / Biryani" kind rice dishes theme for this month’s blogging marathon. When it comes to pulaos and biryanis, we stand neutral. Owing to our mothers' conservative cooking styles, my husband and I grew up in "no pulao / biryani" zones. And naturally, our loyalty is more towards other south Indian style rice dishes that we grew up on. I prepare pulaos once in a while only as a change to the regular fare but we haven't developed any affinity towards these dishes till date even though they do taste delicious. Keeping our opinions aside, most of the pulao / biryani dishes fall under easy breezy kind besides being crowd pleasers. :)

The day one post in this series is going to be this yummy carrot pulao. I prepare it either using whole spices or by grinding them as in this recipe. Now my husband doesn't find the sweetness associated with carrots very appealing and so I prepare this dish spicier to mask some of the sweetness.

Ingredients: (6 servings)
1.5 cups Basmati rice
4 carrots / 1.5 cup peeled and chopped carrot cubes
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 bay leaves
Salt to taste
2 Tbsp oil

To grind:
4 cloves
2 cinnamon
1 one inch piece ginger
2 Tbsp shredded coconut
2 onions
2-3 green chillies

Method:
* Wash the rice and pressure cook adding 3 cups of water, turmeric powder and 1/2 tsp oil / ghee. Or choose a cooking method of your convenience. After the valve pressure is gone, I usually spread the rice on a wide plate and fluff it, if adding it at the end.
* Meanwhile, add carrot and water to a microwave safe bowl and cook to the desired level. If you don't mind your carrots softer in the pulao, they can be directly added to the rice.
* Grind all the ingredients mentioned under "to grind" adding water as needed to make a thick paste.
* Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they start to brown, add bay leaves and the ground paste. Saute the paste until the raw smell leaves. By any chance if the paste was runny, fry it until it thickens. Add salt and carrots and saute for a couple of minutes more. Then add rice and mix well so that the rice is coated well with the mixture. Cover and let it sit for a few minutes for the flavors to mingle.
* Serve it with a raita / yogurt.
Note:
1. If you choose not to cook the rice separately then add water and rice to the pan after the addition of carrots. Cover and cook on low flame until rice is done. It usually takes around 20 minutes to cook and don't be tempted to peek quite often. 
2. Grated carrot can be added instead of carrot cubes. In that case, saute the carrots until done.
3. Garnish the pulao with minced cilantro if desired.

Check here to know what other marathoners are cooking during BM#18.

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