Vegetable pullao
Method
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For the garam masala, put all the garam masala spices in a clean coffee grinder or other spice grinder and grind as finely as possible. Store in a tightly lidded jar, away from heat and sunlight. This makes about three tablespoons.
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For the pullao, wash the rice in several changes of water then drain. Put the rice in a bowl, cover with water and leave to soak for 30 minutes, then drain again.
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Peel and finely grate the ginger.
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Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan (with a tight-fitting lid) set over a medium-high heat. When it's hot, add the mustard seeds.
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As soon as they begin to pop - a matter of seconds - add the chilli, potato, carrot and green beans and stir.
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Add the turmeric and garam masala and stir for one minute.
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Add the ginger and saute, stirring, for another minute.
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Drain the rice and add it to the pan.
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Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir the rice very gently to mix it into the other ingredients and coat it with the oil and spices. Cook this way for two minutes.
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Add the 570ml/1 pint water and the salt and bring to the boil. Cover the pan with a very tight-fitting lid (if you don't have a very tight-fitting lid then cover the pan with foil then a lid) then turn the heat to very low and cook for 25 minutes. After this time try a grain of rice to see if it's cooked - cook for a few more minutes if necessary.
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Once it's cooked you can leave it with the lid on and the heat turned off for up to half an hour before serving. Or serve at once on a serving plate.
Ingredients
For the garam masala
- 1 tbsp cardamom seeds (if you can't buy the seeds then buy cardamom pods and shell them yourself)
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp black cumin seeds (you can use regular cumin seeds if black aren't available)
- 1 tsp whole cloves
- 1/3 of a whole nutmeg (you can break a whole nutmeg by placing it on a cloth and bashing it with a meat mallet or rolling pin)
- a medium stick of cinnamon, about 5cm-8cm/2in-3in, broken up into 3-4 pieces
For the pullao
- basmati rice, measured to the 450ml/1 pint level in a measuring jug
- thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger
- 3 tbsp olive or groundnut oil
- ½ tsp brown mustard seeds
- 1 hot green chilli, finely chopped
- 100g/4oz potato, peeled and cut into 5mm/¼in dice
- ¼ carrot, peeled and cut into 5mm/¼in dice
- 40g/1½oz green beans, cut into 5mm/¼in segments
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1¼ tsp salt
- 570ml/1 pint water
Shopping List
Vegetable pullao
Fruit and vegetables
Tins, packets and jars
Cooking ingredients
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