Saffron Rice - A Classic

The moment Nags announced the Monthly Mingle theme as "Ravishing Rice" the only dish came to my mind was "Saffron Rice". I have made this many times and it has always been a hit in my house, never had any left overs with this dish. In indian restaurants this dish is the most expensive one with the use of saffron and dry fruits in it. I have always liked the home made versions better than the restaurant ones, ofcourse there are always few exceptions. This dish is very easy to prepare and results are outstanding. Recently I had been to london on a short trip and i got many small boxes of saffron from there. You get very good quality saffron in UK at very reasonable price and I always ask my friends and relatives to get some for me when they are visiting. Saffron should be stored in cool and dry place and it stays fresh for years. I love this herb, i use it in desserts, veggies and even in my face packs :) Saffron may seem to be very expensive but one little dab of this delectable herb is needed to make something classy and spectacular. I simply adore the aroma and flavor saffron brings out in the food making it so exotic and delicious. Sending this to Monthly Mingle : Ravishing Rice guest hosted for this month by Nags of Edible Garden, master mind of Meeta. Hema from Salt to Taste as passed "I Love Your Blog" award to me, thank you so much girl, it means a lot to me.

Ingredients: 1 cup basmati rice 1/2 cup milk 1/2 tsp saffron strands 8-10 cashews cut into half 10-15 raisins 1 onion sliced thinly 1/2 cup chopped carrots and green peas 5-6 cardamon pods (elaichi) broken 2 small cinnamon sticks 2 green chillies slit 4-5 whole peppercorns 2 small bay leaf 1 tbsp ghee Salt to taste 1 1/2 cups of water Procedure:

• Wash and soak the basmati rice in cold water for about half an hour.
• Warm the 1/2 cup of milk and add the saffron strands and let it sit for 5 mins.
• In a big vessel, preferrably non stick heat ghee, add in cardamon, bay leaf, pepper corns, slit green chillies, cinnamon sticks, cashews and raisins.
• Saute the dry fruits for about a min, now add in sliced onions and saute for another 2 mins.
• Now add in soaked rice, carrots and peas and saute for another 2 mins. Rice grains should be nicely covered with ghee.
• Mix together saffron milk and 1 1/2 cups of water and add in the rice.
• Season the rice with salt to your taste and cook on medium slow heat for about 15-20 mins.
• Make sure you donot add more water as we dont want to make rice mushy.
• Garnish with few saffron strands and fresh coriander.
• Serve hot with raita and pickle.