Intensely Flavorful Mushroom Pulao
By: Rinku Bhattacharya
Published: Thursday, May 19, 2011 - 7:15pm

Ingredients




1 tablespoon ghee
1 tablespoon oil
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 onion, cut into a dice
1/2 teaspoon powdered cumin
3 pods cardamom
1 cup thickly sliced button mushrooms
1 1/2 cups of white basmati rice
2 3/4 water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dry roasted cashew nuts
Red pepper flakes (optional)

Preparation

1 Heat the ghee and the oil and add in the cumin seeds and cook for about 30 seconds till the cumin sizzles becomes very aromatic. 2 Add in the onion and cook for 7-8 minutes, till the onion softens, wilts and begins to turn golden. If you love cumin and onions as much as I do, you will simply do this step just to savor the fragrance of these two ingredients cooking together. 3 Add in the powdered cumin, cardamoms and the mushrooms and cook for another minute. 4 Add in the basmati rice and mix gently. 5 Add in the water and the salt and bring the water to a boil, let it simmer and cover and cook on medium heat for 18 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave covered for another 5 minutes. 6 If you do not have roasted cashew nuts, place the raw cashew nuts on a skillet and lightly roast them till they turn very lightly golden at spots. This process enhances the flavor of the nuts. 7 Remove the cover and stir in the nuts, sprinkle with red pepper flakes if desired and serve either alone or as a side.