Hyderabadi Zafrani Pulao

Believe it or not, this recipe is taken from a Hindi movie. Really!! When watching the movie "Cheeni Kum", the other day, Amitabh Bachchan (who acts as Chef in this movie) mentions this recipe in one of his dialogues. Every time Amitabh Bachchan said “Hyderabadi Zafrani Pulao” my stomach drooled and wanted to have it. I was very keen to try out this recipe. So today, at last I tried it; And to my delight it came out good. Zafrani is commonly known as Saffron. Usually Zafrani pulao is sweet, but this "Hyderabadi Zafrani Pulao" is the savory dish. I researched about this dish on the Internet and found that this very dish was considered to be a delicacy of the Nawabs (the Royals of the South) in India. This recipe has a very rich ingredients and with a rich aroma. Enjoy it!!

I posting this recipe for the Jihva for Rice hosted by Sharmi of Neivedyam. Thanks for organizing such a wonderful event on Rice. This is my entry for rice.

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients:
450 gm (2 cups) basmati rice

1 medium onion, sliced

2 tablespoons ghee

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)

1 inch stick cinnamon

1-2 cardamoms (elaichi)

2-3 cloves

1 bay leaf

1"(25mm) ginger

2 cloves of garlic (optional)

pinch of saffron strands

10 tsp milk

2 tsp chilli powder

2 tbsp sour curd

50 gm (1/2 cup) slivered almonds

25 gm green raisins or sultanas

4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt

Method:
1. Soak saffron in 2 tablespoon of warm milk for few minutes.
2. Meanwhile rinse rice and soak in fresh water for 30 minutes in a pan.
3. Heat ghee in a heavy saucepan. Add cumin seeds when they crackle, add onion and all the spices(cloves, bay leaf, cardamom, cinnamon), ginger and garlic except saffron to the hot ghee. Stir-fry until the onion turns golden brown.
4. Add almonds, raisins and well-drained rice, chilli powder, milk and sour curd, stir-fry for a further 5 minutes.
5. Pour water into the rice, It should be just the right quantity - one inch above the rice level.
6. Add the salt and saffron, stir well and bring to the boil.
7. Reduce heat, cover the pan tightly and cook on slow fire for about 20 minutes until the rice is tender and fluffy and the water is absorbed.

8. Fluff up the rice with a fork and serve immediately.

Note: Rice and water ratio is 1:2 so use accordingly.