Sunday, August 05, 2007

Z is for.... Zafrani Pulav

As we come to the end of our journey in the A-Z of Indian Vegetables, I want to present a Nawabi Dish...the flavourful Zafrani Pulao.
This has been on my mind ever since I saw the movie 'Cheeni Kum', where a proud Amitabh claims that he makes the Best and most Authentic Indian Food in the UK.. until Tabu returns the Zafrani Pulao and pops his pride!
Bits and pieces of the recipe remained in my memory(I liked the movie a lot, and in enjoying the movie, I quite forgot to jot down the recipe!!) So I hunted around the net and found a recipe which was similar .. not the exact, so tweaking it a bit to suit my requirements I attempted this aromatic rice preparation . The end result was a wonderful and delicately coloured and flavoured rice and I was rather pleased with the outcome! What however left me in doubt was.... do you eat this with any gravy vegetable? Please do let me know. I did enjoy eating the pulao without any gravy, savouring every morsel which sometimes brought a whiff of the spices in it, sometimes the sweetness of a plump raisin and the crunch of an almond! (now I know why the Nawabs must have favoured this preparation!!)
Here is the recipe with my tweaks: (for the original recipe, please click on the 'recipe' link given above)

1 cup Basmati Rice (uncooked)

A generous Pinch Saffron Threads

2 tbls. Ghee

1/2 Red Onion sliced thin

1/2 tsp Ginger and Garlic paste

1 Whole Clove

1 Cardamon Pod

1 Cinnamon Sticks (3” pieces)

1 tbsp. Golden Raisins

2 cups Water

3 tbsp Slivered Almonds

5 tsp milk

1 tbsp Yogurt

Salt

Procedure:

Rinse rice 3 to 4 times in cold water, drain well. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Lightly toast the saffron. Remove and add it to some water and keep aside.

Heat the Ghee over medium-high heat; add onions, ginger and garlic. Stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes or until onions soften slightly.
Stir in cloves, cardamom and cinnamon. Cook 1 to 2 minutes more, stirring occasionally to blend flavors.Add rice, and mix till every grain of rice is coated with ghee. Add the almonds and raisins. Add salt and mix well. Add water. Bring it to a boil. Add the saffron, Yogurt and milk.Cook (covered) till the rice is done and every grain of rice is separate. Serve immediately.

This will go to Nupur for the A-Z series.
Nupur has been a great hostess and this whole journey has been an awesome learning experience! Thank You Nupur for this wonderful opportunity!!

Pin It

29 comments:

Unknown said...

Nice one! great entry, looks superb

Anonymous said...

Can desi-ghee be used?

thou I am not really an expert, but I'll still try today just bcos of the way that guy used to say 'Zafrani Pulav' in cheeni-kum :)

Wouldn't have trusted any other source for the recipe, but when you write about it, no second thoughts! :)

Thanks!

Sharmi said...

After watching cheeni Kum I too wanted to make this pulav. now I got a recipe to follow. lovely looking pulao. great entry Manasi.

Priyanka said...

Oh thats such a nice recipe Manasi... Thanks for sharing.

SeeC said...

Very colourful and lovely entry Manasi.

Liked your explanation...

FH said...

Excellent Pulao.I thought of making this and then got attracted to Zucchini Adais!:D
Looks yum,great with any side gravy dish.

Cynthia said...

The lighting in this pic of the dish makes me swoon :)

Nupur said...

Love the movie reference! And this dish looks totally royal!

Manasi said...

Thank U Sajeda!!

H2O2, Desi ghee can definately be used! I as laughing alound when that buck toothed waiter said Zefreni Puulav, Seir!! liked the whole movie!Thank U soooo much, for ur confidence in me, it goes a loong way in building up mine!!!

Hi Sharmi.. did u like the movie too? I just loved this mild and fragrant Pulav!!

Hi Priyanka, Thank U so much dear!!

Hi Seec! Thank U so much dear!

Hi Asha!! Zuchhini adais are so innovative!! U rock!

Hi Cynthia!! hehehehe!!

Hi Nupur! Thank U so much for including my recipe in the A-Z series! I know I was late, but I so much wanted to be a part of this!!

archana said...

Nice colour, and kesar must be giving the rice a lovely flavour :)Will definitely try it some time.

Roopa said...

wow great looking pulao!very nice entry too !

Tee said...

A royal entry indeed! :)

Anonymous said...

Coming from hyderabad, I never tried zafrani pulav in hyderabad. Strange isn't it. When I watched the movie Cheeni kum thats when I knew it belongs to that region. Hmm... got to try this and finally taste it once. Thanks for sharing.

Padma said...

Nice entry and mouthwatering recipe, were you too got inspired by 'Cheeni-kum" movie?
tx for sharing :)

Coffee said...

The first thing that came to my mind when I read the title was that toothed guy from cheeni kum! Great write up as always.... and lovely recipe..... I am gonna try this shahi style rice. :)

Suma Gandlur said...

Did you enjoy the movie? I surely did.
The pulav looks simple and delicious. Yeah, the comment looks so cliched. But, I mean it.

Swaruchy said...

Nice One.....Looks very yummy and tempting :-)

Manasi said...

Hi Archana, thank u.. yes kesar lends its delicate aroma and bright colour to this dish and makes it a wonderful combo!

Hi Tee, Thank u so much~!!

Hi Hima, I and my hubby are both fans of AP cuisine! I would really love to try the most famous dishes!

Hi Padma, Yep total Bollywood ishtyle!!

Hi Coffee, hehehe that guy was funny! Do try this rice prep. I'll make a nice gravy veg to go with it the next time!

Hi Suma,Thanks dear ! I really liked the movie, glad there was no dhisum-dhishum or any dancing in 5 foreign locations in the same song!

Hi Sri, Thank u very much!!

Prajusha said...

thanks for visiting my blog. first time to ur blog.
pulao looks delicious.Nice Entry

Anonymous said...

Royal looks,rich in colour and surely must be great in taste.Great entry for "Z".
Kulkarni

TBC said...

Zafrani Pulav... the first time I heard about this was in Cheeni Kum:-)
Your version looks so good, Manasi!

bha said...

hey isnt this the one hyderabadi zafarani pulav, from cheeni kum.....and i always thot whats so special about it....and now i understood and go the recipe as well....

ServesYouRight said...

Oye! 2 of my favorite foods in a row - Mirchi ka salan and Zafrani Pulao!! You must be a mind-reader :-)

Smita

Manasi said...

Hi Prajusha! Welcome to my little blog!!!

Hi Anon.! Thank u so much!

Hi TBC! I had heard of ZP, but Cheeni Kum made me want to prepare it!!

Hi Bahgs!! this is adapted from the cheeni kum recipe.. a bit of tweaking, but liked it fine!

Oye Smita!! kya baat hai!! u like both these!! arey yaar, wish i could share them with u!!

TBC said...

Happy Independence Day!
Hey Manasi,
Hop on over to my blog & check out the award waiting for ya! :-)

Viji said...

An all time favorite puluv Manasi. Lovely. Viji

Roopa (KitchenAromas) said...

me wants some Zzzzzafrani pulav! It looks delicious Manasi!
I watched chini kam too..interesting movie!
Hope you are well settled in your new job now! Best wishes and keep your humorous posts coming! ;)

nicky said...

dear manasi,,that was such a nice,,flavourful and easy to make reciepe.And i read it somewer that zafrani pulao makes a great combination with Paneer Pasanda,,so give it a try

dijital pazarlama said...

i used to eat pulav alot but it has alot of sugar in it. 3 month after i stopped eating it, i lost 10kg in weight

Share

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape