Basanti Pulao | Yellow Pulao | Badami Paneer Korma | Paneer in White Gravy | Cook Na Kaho
Now that Social Distancing has taken over most of us, you’ll find me connecting to you more often here. Yesterday it was Mr. Pal’s Birthday, and I arranged a very simple lunch for him consisting of Basanti Pulao and Badami Paneer Korma. You’ll find a detailed recipe for both the delicacies in this post. If you have stocked these ingredients at home and have a special day coming up, do try it. I’ll be happy if you try and share your pictures with me.
Basanti Pulao/Yellow Pulao
Ingredients
- Gobindobhog Rice/Basmati Rice/Any aromatic rice – 2 cups (The rice should be aged, so better to buy them from a reliable grocery store)
- Whole Spices: Green Cardamom (3-4 pods crushed), Cloves (2-3), Mace (1 small piece), Cinnamon – One inch stick, Star Anise – 1
- Bay Leaf – 2
- Ginger – One teaspoon grated
- Salt- As per Taste
- Sugar – 3 Teaspoons (I like it a little sweet)
- Ghee – 2 Teaspoons
- Raisins-Cashew – One Cup
- Turmeric – Half Teaspoon
- Refined Oil – Two Teaspoons
- Water – 4 cups
Method
- Wash the rice thoroughly and soak it in water for atleast 30 minutes. Drain the water after an hour or so, and let it air dry.
- Take a pressure cooker and add oil in it. Once heated, fry the raisins and cashews lightly. Keep them aside.
- Now add ghee in the same cooker. Let it heat. Add the whole spices along with bay leaf. Let it crackle. Next add grated ginger. Once the raw smell of the ginger fades, add the rice and fry lightly. Next add turmeric powder into it. Fry the rice well.
- Now boil the water/heat it in a microwave and add it into the cooker measuring it. The ratio of rice:water is 1:2. Add salt and sugar. Stir well.
- Pressure cook the rice till 2 whistles and let the steam release on its own.
- Add the fried cashew-raisins. You can drizzle some garam masala and ghee on top of it. This is a sure shot hit recipe with my guests. Do pair it with Kosha Mangsho/ Paneer Korma or even Chholar Daal-Alur Dom.
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Badami Paneer Korma/Paneer in White Gravy
So I’ll start off this post by thanking by friend Priyanka Bhattacharya, who inspired me to try this recipe. Her post on Instagram lured me to try it, and I had all the basic ingredients at home (thankfully). I had never tried cooking Paneer in white gravy, so this was a welcome change from the usual Tawa Paneer that I make.
Ingredients
- Cashew/Groundnuts/Almonds – Half a cup together (Soak them in water for 30 minutes, peel the almond’s skin and then make a paste out of the three). In case you don’t have it, you could add poppy seeds (posto) or melon seeds (charmagaj).
- Onion – 1 Large
- Ginger – 1 inch
- Garlic – 4-5 pods | Make a paste of these three
- 350 gms fresh paneer (sufficient for 5 adults) | Cut paneer into cubes and marinate it with kasuri methi and salt in a bowl.
- Whole Spices: Fenugreek Seeds, Cumin Seeds, Pepper
- Oil and Ghee
- Salt and Sugar
- Fresh Cream
- Garam Masala
- Kasoori Methi
- Coriander Leaves for garnishing
Method
- Heat a kadhai and add oil+ghee into it. Once heated, add 1/4th teaspoon fenugreek seeks (methi), 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (zeera), and 1/2 teaspoon freshly grounded pepper. Let it splutter.
- Add the onion-ginger-garlic paste. Let it cook for a while.
- Now add the cashew-almond-groundnut paste. Keep stirring because the mixture tends to stick to the bottom of the pan. Let oil ooze out of the mixture.
- Add one teaspoon of sugar (because I like it a little sweet).
- Now add salt as per taste.
- After cooking for 3-5 minutes, add some hot water into the kadhai. Let it simmer. Now add the cubed marinated paneer. Stir very lightly, else the paneer cubes might break. Next, add half a cup of fresh cream into it. Let it come to a boil, but simmer the flame and keep cooking on a low flame.
- Add a pinch or two of garam masala powder once it is cooked. You may garnish with fresh coriander leaves along with kasoori methi.
Do try it out with Roti/Naan/Pulao.
Priyanka has a slightly different version of this recipe. You can find it HERE