Recipe : Tehri - Vegetable Pulao

This is a quick and easy one pot meal. It is Vegetarian and does not involve even half as much effort as it would for a biriyani. I have used cauliflower, potatoes and peas in this version, you can add other vegetables like beans or carrots too.

Tips:
The simple rule of thumb is that total volume of chopped vegetables should not exceed twice the volume of uncooked rice.
Keep the size of vegetables slightly larger than you normally might chop because the vegetables cook for as long as the rice, so the vegetables will turn soft and if the pieces are are too small, they will simply mash and melt into the rice and it will turn into baby food!
Use twice the volume of water as the uncooked rice.

Ingredients:
1 bowl of uncooked rice (washed and soaked for at least 10 minutes)
2 bowls of chopped vegetables (I used 2 small potatoes, some cauliflower & green peas)

1/2 an onion sliced (optional)
1" ginger shredded
2-3 green chillies chopped
a few grains of methi (fenugreek)
a pinch of hing (asafoetida)
1 tsp haldi (turmeric) powder
1/2 tsp dhaniya (corriander) powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
salt to taste
1/2 tsp oil (preferably mustard oil, but any cooking oil will do)

Method:
Heat the oil in a heated pressure cooker.
Drop the hing and the methi into the hot oil.
When it splutters, add the onion and ginger. Saute for 2 minutes.
Add the potatoes and other vegetables. Give it a quick stir to coat them with a little oil.

Add the powders and the salt. Give it another quick stir.

Note: the rice should turn a nice yellow colour, if your turmeric powder isn't strong enough, you may need to use a little more, but don't use too much, a strong taste of turmeric can be mildly repulsive.

Add the soaked-drained-uncooked rice. Give it a quick stir.

Add two bowls of water.

Cover the pressure cooker and cook till done.

Serve with a dash of ghee (clarified butter) and chopped coriander.

Raita is a good side with this dish.


Variations & Notes:
This dish can be made richer by adding cardamom, cinnamon, cloves or bay leaves while tempering (at the stage where you add the methis seeds and hings)
You can add any firm vegetable to this dish and even paneer (cottage cheese).
Frozen peas are ok for this dish, but not any other frozen vegetable (it will turn to mush)
A Pressure cooker is a standard cooking vessel in most Indian households. It speeds up the cooking process drastically, especially for dishes involving lentils and dried beans. A slow cooker would serve the purpose but take a much longer time to cook it. You would be better off using a regular vessel which can be tightly sealed.

The sides in this picture are karela (bitter gourd) chips, amtekai (baby mango)pickle and an onion+green chilli+corriander raita.

Making an onion raita is a good way to finish the other half of the onion :) but its also a delicious combination.
This quantity is enough for a meal for 2 people.