Whenever we have friends and family over for dinner, rice is almost always a staple with any meal. Instead of eating plain rice, we cook it up into a pilaf, which adds more flavor to the dish and also makes it more enticing.

Saffron rice goes well with kadhi, daal-fry, boondi-raita or just plain (for kids)!

Preparation Time: 20-25 minutes for the rice to cook and 10 minutes for the pilaf.
Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

For the Rice:

• 1 cup Basmati Rice
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (or as per taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon (or as per taste)
• 1 teaspoon ghee/oil (ghee preferable)

For the Pilaf:

• Basmati Rice (cooked as per directions below)
• 5-6 threads of saffron
• 1/2 cup mixed vegetables (green peas, carrots, string beans)
• 8-10 roasted cashew-nuts
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 black cardamom
• 2 cloves
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 1 table spoon Ghee

Directions:

For the Rice:

1. Soak rice in water for half an hour before cooking.
2. Boil 3 cups of water.
3. When the water starts boiling, add the rice.
4. After 5 minutes, add the salt, sugar ,ghee/oil and lemon to the rice.
5. After ~10 minutes, check on the rice. If it’s cooked, drain the water.
6. Let the rice cool before proceeding to make the pilaf.

For the Pilaf:

1. Heat the oil/ghee in a wok-like non-stick pan.
2. Once the oil/ghee starts heating up, turn down the heat to low, and then add the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf and cumin seeds.
3. As all the spices and cumin seeds start popping, add the mixed vegetables, cashewnuts and stir it for a minute. Now add cooked rice and saffron.
4. Stir until the whole mixture is properly heated.
5. Enjoy!

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