My mum is a fantastic cook. So is my mom-in-law. Whatever I make falls two spots short of whatever they churn out, by just chucking random ingredients into the pan. Life’s not fair is it?! I always console myself thinking that they had 8 hours a day for the last 30 years to practice their art while I’ve just had weekends. Score settled. Anyway, they’ve always been more than willing to share their gems of wisdom with me, which I reverently jot down in a little notebook to ‘try’ replicating at home. Alas, it’s always a not quite. Am sure the wily women are not disclosing the magic ingredient! How else would they get me to come home often? So here is my mum’s Ghee Rice. It’s the most amazing accompaniment to any curry/ gravy. And don’t worry, even without her secret ingredient (shall we be soppy and say ‘love’) it still rocks my boat!
Ghee Rice
Prep time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins
Serves: 4-6
What you need:
3 cups Jeera Rice (or any aromatic short grain)
½ Lemon, juice of
3 med Onions, sliced
3 tsp Ginger Garlic paste
6 Green Chilies
2 pieces Cinnamon (1 inch each)
2 Bay leaves
8 Cloves
5 Cardamom pods (green)
10 whole Cashews
75 ml Oil
100 ml Ghee (Clarified Butter)
Salt and Pepper to taste
To garnish:
Handful of fresh peas/ chopped Fresh Coriander
What to do:
Soak the bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom in 3 Tbsp of water for 5 mins. Wash and soak rice for 5 mins. Drain and mix with lemon juice, set aside. Heat the oil in a cooker frying pan. When it is hot add in the ghee. (This is to prevent it from burning). Put in the whole spices sans water, reduce the heat. Toss in Onions and sauté on medium flame till they turn translucent. Add ginger garlic paste, fry well. Toss in the chilies and sauté for 5 mins. Add the cashews, sauté again. Now add the rice and stir well to coat the grains with the oil mixture. Pour in 4 ½ glasses of water. Wait till the water comes to a boil. Pressure cook with weight on for 10-12 mins. Let it stand for 10 mins before serving or till pressure disappears. Serve hot with curry. My favourite is Chicken Chops Masala or Andhra Chilli Chicken. Maybe I’ll share the recipes in the coming posts. Heaven!
The FoodPorn Diaries 
he he he … three years ago 🙂 Just to document some of my fav recipes.. then it just grew to this! No one in my house has time to brown the onions.. we're all hungey monsters! 😀
LikeLike
When did you start this blog??? Im inviting myself over to ur plc in sep when im bck in blore. This ones my favourite too – mummys ghee rice, except she browns the onions- which i loveeeesee
LikeLike