Orange & Peas Pulao

Out of the many joys of being a food-blogger, there is no match for the culinary sound bites from friends n relatives ranging from mere ideas to full pledged recipes that are sure party rockers . One such lovely recipe is from my aunt who always gloats about this pulao being the star dish in all her at-home bashes !

I worked on her recipe a little by adding green peas as well as a few strands of saffron.This one-pot meal was very flavorful and had a lovely orange'y aroma wafting for a long time.

One thing that must be remembered is to add the orange peel at the very end , because if added while cooking the rice will carry a slightly bitter taste that may not appeal to all !

Do you know that these yummy citrus fruits is loaded with antioxidants that helps in slowing the ageing genes and enables us to stay young ??  

What's in this rice :-

• Oranges - 2 to 3 - for 1 glass of orange juice
• Green Peas - a fistful
• Onion - 1 large - chopped 
• Garlic - 3 to 4 pods - chopped
• Cashewnuts - a few
• Green chillis - 2  - halved & sliced - to taste
• Saffron - a few strands - infused in milk
• Rice - 1 cup - Basmati/or rice of your choice (I used Karnataka Ponni )
• Butter/oil - 1 tbsp
• Fennel seeds - 1 tbsp
• Salt - to taste
• Coriander leaves - a few sprigs - chopped for garnish
• Orange Peel - peel of about 1/2 of an orange - diced - for garnish
• Orange wedges - as required - for garnish - optional
• Water - as required

Here's how:-

Extract juice from the oranges and set aside. Soak the saffron strands in warm milk for some time. In a wok add butter and let the fennel seeds sizzle. Now add the green chillis & garlic pods and saute. Add the cashew nuts and stir till golden brown. Now add the chopped onions and let it turn a fine pink before adding the green peas.  Add the orange juice and water as required along with the saffron infused milk. Once it comes to a boil add the rice and season with salt. Cover and let it simmer till the rice is cooked. Remove the pan from flame , gently fluff the rice adding the orange peel as well as the coriander leaves and serve it hot with choice accompaniments.

This goes to Kalyani's My Mother's Kitchen , Savitha's Veggie/Fruit a Month : Orange event announcement by Priya as well as Kankana's Hearth & Soul Blog Hop : 52