Receta Fennel scented Spring Onion Pulav

by Nisha

A well known fact, a cliche to be precise, that Indians love their rice. Cooking rice, especially in a pressure cooker, is an everyday affair. It is almost like a sacred ritual, the very first thing that you do once you enter the kitchen is to wash and soak the rice. Many of us would have had the pleasure of getting up to the whistle of the cooker rather than an alarm. Oh! It is sensational to see those beautiful white pearls and inhale the warm aroma of the steam that comes out as soon as it is cooked. Spanning across the entire nation we have so many of rice varieties. So, when it comes to Indian vegetarian dinners, Pulav is always my first choice.  I go with this not just because of its taste and preference but its quite easy to prepare as well. It gives a win-win situation especially when you have guests. The hostess is stress free and since, almost 99% of the time it cannot go wrong, the guests are also happy.              One such recipe is what I am posting today. Its not a traditional Indian variety. It is a Pulav made with spring onions and fennel seeds. I just love spring onions. It gives a mild sweet aroma when it gets cooked and it pairs very well with the fennel seeds; and enhances the pulav. The final dish is very very mild. So when preparing the menu, add a spicy curry to pair this up with.  Fennel scented Spring Onion Pulav Basmati rice laced with fennel seeds and Spring onions Prep Time: | Cook Time: | Total Time: | Serves: 2 Ingredients 1 Cup Basmati Rice 3 Cups chopped Spring Onions (white and green), reserve some greens for garnish 1 tsp Fennel seeds 1-2 Anise seed 2 Tbsp Cashew nuts or chopped almonds (or a mix of both) 2 Garlic pods, crushed Salt to taste A pinch of sugar (optional) Instructions Cook the rice. Fluff it up and let it cool. You can add little salt to the rice while it cooks.  Roast the cashews in a pan and keep aside.  In the same pan, in medium heat, add butter. Once it heats up, add the anise seed and fennel seeds; let it sizzle. (1) Immediately, add the chopped onions and garlic. Sautee until it softens.  Turn off the pan. Mix the rice and cashews.  Add salt and sugar (if using). Mix it well. Sprinkle some greens of the onions on top as garnish.  Notes The fennel seeds will easily burn. So keep the other ingredients handy and add as soon as the seeds sizzle.  Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 72 here.