Peas Pulao & Mutton Curry

 Happy Independence day  !! I know its a great day and I wholeheartedly honor all those unsung heroes who fought for our freedom.But I guess if most of them are alive today they wouldn't be happy with the state of our country.I somehow feel that previously it was explicit slavery ,but now we are slowly becoming implicit slaves to so many unwelcome forces . Ok,I want this this to be a lighthearted post,so I'm not getting into gruesome details :))

If you visit us on a Sunday ,there is a 70% chance of you getting peas pulao with a chicken or mutton curry.Mostly it would be a chicken gravy though :) Though we are non vegetarians we mostly stick to chicken & fish.It's only recently that I've developed a liking towards mutton.We are what you can call 'weekend Non Vegetarians'.Back at home,mom would make vegetarian food from Monday to Friday ,fish on Saturday and chicken or mutton on Sunday. Occasionally we would have chicken on Wednesday and my sister & I would be super excited about it :) I stick to the same menu.

    I'm a big fan of Peas Pulao,probably one of the easiest to prepare but very rich and flavorful.Every household would have its own recipe.The best peas pulao I've ever tasted was at 'Uphara Darshini' in Jayanagar,Bangalore.It's a fast food place where you just stand and eat.It used to cost me only 15 Rs but simply splendid. I've tried different versions of peas pulao and this is one that comes a little close to the taste in my memory :) 

   I usually stick to chicken,firstly because we don't find lamb here and secondly I'm not a big fan of its meaty flavour. The lamb that we find here is a little expensive too.It's only recently that we discovered this little Turkish shop that sells lamb at a reasonable price. I set out trying out different recipes and this was one that I really loved.I watched this in a travel cooking show and gave it a shot.It's very flavorful and somehow adding mint kind of alleviates the meaty flavour. I wanted to post them as two different posts,but they looked and taste so good together that I didn't want to separate the Pulao and the curry :) So off to the recipes......

PEAS PULAO

Serves 4 
You'll Need:
Basmati Rice - 2 cups
Onion - 1 big sliced thinly
Fresh peas - 3/4th cup
Cinnamon - 1 big stick
Cloves - 3
Cardamom - 2
Star anise - 1
Bay leaf - 1 big
Oil - 1/2 tbsp
Ghee - 1/2 - 1 tbsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Green chilli - 2 big
Water - 2.5 cups
Curd - 1 cup
Boiled milk - 1/2 cup
Cashew nuts - 4 - 5 ( optional)
Kasoori methi - 1 tsp crushed
salt as needed

Method:
-Soak the basmati rice in water for 20 - 30 minutes.Then drain the rice and  preserve the water.
-Mix 2.5 cups of water (including the water in which the rice was soaked ),curd and milk well .Add the cumin powder,coriander powder,garam masala powder and mix well.Heat it until its warm and just starts boiling.Remove it from the stove.
-In a pan,heat the oil and ghee,when it heats up splutter the cinnamon , cardamom ,star anise and bay leaf.
-Add the Onions and the slit green chillies and saute until the onions turn translucent.Add the peas and saute cf or two minutes .
-Add the drained rice and saute on a slow flame for 4 - 5 minutes.
-Add the hot water,curd and milk mixture and mix well.Add salt and mix well,the mixture should taste a little bit salty.Add the Kasoori Methi and mix well.
-To cook the rice :
  -In an electric rice cooker,just add the contents and pout it in cook mode
  -To cook in a vessel on a stove - add the contents to a vessel and let it cook on medium flame,when it starts boiling reduce the flame and cover with a lid.Simmer for 10 - 12 minutes.
  -To cook in as pressure cooker, cook on medium heat food 1 whistle.Then simmer for 8 - 10 minutes.
-Garnish with Cashew nuts sauted in a little ghee.

Note:
For a richer taste:
 -You can add 2 tsp of almond or cashew paste.
 -You can replace the milk with coconut milk.

MUTTON CURRY
Serves 3 - 4
You'll Need:
Mutton - 250 g
Onion - 1 big (finely chopped)
Tomato - 1 big(finely chopped)
Mint Leaves - 1 - 2 tbsp ( finely chopped)
Coriander leaves -  2 tbsp ( finely chopped)
Green Chilli - 1 - 2 ( chopped)
Ginger - 1 " piece ( crushed or grated) - 1.5 tsp
Garlic - 6 -7 (crushed or grated)
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Fennel Powder - 3/4 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 3/4 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1/4 tbsp
Curry leaves - 10 leaves
oil - 3 - 4 tsp
Coconut milk - 1/2 cup (thick milk)

Method:
-Clean the mutton and cut it into small bite size pieces.
-To a pressure cooker,add the oil and when it heats up add the curry leaves.Then add the crushed ginger and garlic and saute for 3 -4 minutes until they are browned.
-Add the onion and chopped green chilli with little salt.Saute until the onions are well browned.
-Add the mutton pieces and turmeric powder and saute for 4 -5 minutes on medium flame.
-Add the tomatoes and mix well.Add the garam masala powder,coriander powder,fennel powder and red chilli powder and mix well.Reduce the flame and saute until the mixture oozes out oil.
-Now add the mint and coriander leaves and about 1.5 to 2 cups of water.Pressure cook on high heat for one whistle and simmer for 10 -12 minutes or until the mutton is well cooked.After the pressure is released open the pressure cooker and add the coconut milk and let it simmer for another 8 - 10 minutes or until it reaches the desired thickness.Done !

Thanks for stopping by ! Happy Cooking !

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