Nutri Pilaf /Soya Chunks Pilaf

Ingredients

Long grain basmati rice - 500 grams

Soya chunks/Mealmaker - 2 cups

Onion - 2 (finely chopped)

Green chillies - 2 (chopped)

Ginger paste - 1 tbsp

Garlic paste - 1 tbsp

Tomato - 1 (chopped)

Potatoes - 4 (cut into two parts)

Ghee/ Clarified butter - 2 tbsp

Whole garam masala - 2 bay leaf, 3 cardamom, few black pepper and cloves, 2 stick cinnamon, 2 star anise.

Salt - as needed

Caraway seeds/ Shah jeera - 1 tsp

Lemon - 1

Mint - few leaves (chopped)

Fresh coriander - 1 bunch (chopped)

Coriander powder - 2 tbsp

Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp

Kewda water - 1 tbsp

Fried onions/ Birista - 1/2 cup

Cashew nuts - 8-10 fried

Raisins - 8-10 fried

Method: Wash, drain and soak rice in fresh water and keep aside for minimum 30 mins before cooking. In a pan, boil water and add soya chunks in it and boil. Drain and keep aside to cool. Once cool, squeeze them to take off excess water and keep them separate in a plate/bowl. Heat oil/ ghee in a wok and first fry the potatoes and keep aside. Now in the remaining ghee, add bay leaf and all the dry whole garam masala including shah jeera and allow it to splutter. Add finely chopped onions and fry till light and translucent. Add green chillies, ginger and garlic paste and fry all till golden. To this, add chopped tomato along with coriander powder, red chilli powder, and fry well till the ghee starts leaving from sides. Add soya chunks and salt, mix all together, fry again for few minutes. Add little water just to wet the masala and cook it with lid closed in low flame. Meanwhile in another large thick bottomed vessel, add lots of water with little salt, few drops of oil and lemon juice and allow it to boil. Once the water is hot and starts boiling, add soaked rice and cook till the rice is 90% done. Turn off the gas and strain the rice very carefully and spread it in a big flat tray so that the grains do not stick to each other. Allow it to cool a bit. Do not stir them as the grains may break.

Assembling the Pilaf: Take the vessel in which you want to assemble the pilaf, divide the nutri gravy into two parts and the rice into three parts. Spread the first half of the rice in the bottom of the vessel and then layer it with the first half of nutri gravy. Again spread the other second half of the rice and then again the nutri gravy alng with the fried potatoes. Lastly spread the third part of the rice and spread evenly. Garnish it with freshly chopped coriander, lemon juice, fried onions, and fried raisins and cashew nuts. Close the lid and allow the pilaf to cook for another 10 mins on medium flame. Once the pilaf is done, hold the vessel from both sides and shake it vigorously , this will mix the nutri gravy and the rice evenly inside without breaking the grains. Serve hot with little more garnishing on top!

Happy Cooking!

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