Quick Veg Pulao

Most people are becoming extremely cautious of the food choices that they make and a major leap that calorie conscious people are making is the shift from white rice to brown rice. White rice is basically the refined form of brown rice, in brown rice only the outer husk is removed whereas in white rice the husk, barn and all layers are removed leaving only the endosperm behind. So obviously brown rice is the healthier choice as compared to white rice as the refining process results into nutritional loss.  

I tried looking up the internet to get some idea on whether really is there any major difference between brown and white rice and it seems a lot of experts/health sites etc have very contrasting views on the topic. However from as much I could gather it seems that there isn’t a very major difference between the two specially if your bowl of rice is accompanied with a bowl of veggies or dals etc. even otherwise even though brown rice has a higher nutrient content it seems there isn’t an alarming difference between the calorie contents of brown and white rice.

For foodies like me who do not mind choosing the less healthy options by giving taste a priority would agree that all that said, white rice is more flavoursome in the sense that it blends with and absorbs other flavours more easily. Whereas brown rice needs more cooking time and tends to be chewy and nutty, also it has a limited shelf life as compared to white rice. On days when I am feeling extremely guilty for not being a calorie conscious person I turn to brown rice but otherwise I use white rice just like I’ve done for my easy peasy veg pulav, which is a very simple homely recipe, with mild flavours.

Ingredients:

2 cups boiled rice (preferably long grain rice)

1 medium size carrot diced finely

1 large onion diced finely (or spring onion with its greens)

1 cup finely diced beans

1 capsicum diced finely

1 pinch of cumin seeds

4 - 5 cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 - ½ tsp ginger and green chilli paste

1- 1 ½ tsp tandoori masala

Salt as per taste

1 pinch turmeric powder

Oil/butter

6-7 cashews and raisins   

Coriander for garnish 

Method:

1.    Begin with heating about 1 ½ tbsp oil or butter in a wok. Once the oil is heated add the cumin seeds and a pinch of hing (asafoetida). Then add the finely chopped garlic and the diced onions. Once the onion is pinkish and slightly softened, add the ginger and green chilli paste to it.

2.    Next add the finely diced beans, capsicum and carrots, let them cook through, once all the veggies are cooked nicely, lower the flame and add the boiled rice to it and at the same time add salt, tandoori masala and turmeric powder to it. Also add the cashews and raisins.

3.    Gently mix all the veggies, rice and masalas so as to not break or mash the boiled rice. Let it cook for about 2 minutes. Next garnish it with some coriander and cashews and that’s it!