Rice Dishes ~ A for Achari Chole Pulao

 
It's time for another mega marathon. Readers who follow my blog may have noticed that I do participate in an event called blogging marathon based on preset themes and this month, there are going to be 26 recipes posted here as part of that event. Participants had a choice of picking any one ingredient or one category for each week of  the month or the entire month. I chose to base my recipes on one ingredient for the entire month. I picked 'rice' as my ingredient and my focus mainly remained on Indian based one pot meals that can be put together quickly and easily. And of course there is some sweet stuff thrown in the mix.

The first one in the series is going to be achari chole pulao. Achar in the title refers to the Indian style spicy pickle that is being used in the cooking and chole are the garbanzo beans. In India, serving a spicy pickle along with rice based dishes like a khichdi (a savory porridge) is norm but this pulao is unusual in the sense where a pickle is part of the cooking. It lends an interesting base to the dish whereas garbanzo beans add nutrition to the dish. If you have the garbanzo beans ready, this pulao makes a quick one pot meal. If using canned beans, rinse thoroughly before using. Serve it along with yogurt to make it a quick meal.

Ingredients:
1 cup Basmati rice
3/4 cup soaked and partially cooked garbanzo beans / chana
2 tsp. ghee/oil
1 tsp. cumin seeds
Whole spices - I used 10 black peppercorns, 2 cardamom pods, 2 cloves, 2 bay leaves, 1 star anise
1 tsp. ginger paste / minced ginger
1 onion, sliced lengthwise / minced
1 tomato, chopped
2 tbsp. mango achaar / pickle
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garam masala (optional)
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
Minced cilantro to garnish
1.5 cups water
 
Method:
* Soak rice in water for about 10-15 minutes and drain.
* Heat oil / ghee in a pan or a small sized pressure cooker directly. Add cumin seeds and the whole spices and saute until cumin seeds start to turn a shade darker. 
* Next add ginger and onion to the pan and saute until done. Next add tomatoes and cook until mushy.
* Add salt, chili powder, turmeric powder and garam masala if using. Saute for few seconds and next add mango pickle to the pan and stir.
* Finally add rice and garbanzo beans, saute for few seconds and add the required amount of water. 
* Transfer the contents to a pressure cooker, cover the lid and cook for 3 to 4 whistles.
* If not using a pressure cooker, cook on low flame covered, until the rice grains appear done. (A little extra water may be needed if not using cooker.)
* Let cool a little before serving and fluff t with a fork if needed to separate the grains.
* Serve it along with yogurt to balance the flavors.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 68.

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