Another fine recipe from Julie Sahni (Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking, the title a mouthful in itself), this rice preparation from southern India is a delicious complement, hot or room temperature, to South Indian Sambar (skipping the idli). Like many vegetarian Indian meals, the dish is high in protein, combining roasted ground gram beans and basmati rice, a healthy dose of traditional southern Indian spices, and your call on how much blast-furnace red pepper heat to include.
The first time I prepared this pilaf was to feed 60-80 hungry dancers, so I had to scale it up at the same time I tried it out (we had left-over brown rice from the day before, just in case either the dish or my cooking of it turned out a failure). I didn’t have gram beans, so I used yellow urad dal instead, which unlike white gram are tough little buggers, even roasted. My food processor lost a few teeth in the process, I am sure, and my kitchen was liberally (literally) dusted with aromatic bean flour.
The flavor was well worth the effort, though. Another mmmmm! experience, and another favorite recipe.
| Dry-roast over medium-high heat, until browned, 10 mins; cool, then grind in blender or food processor to fine powder |
½ c 8-16 |
white urad dal, split dry chili pods, broken into bits |
| Rinse well, then soak in 2⅔c water for 30 mins; drain but reserve and boil water; add rice, bring to boil then simmer 10 mins til almost dry; cover, cook lowest heat for 10 mins; then cool off heat for 10 more carefully stir in bean powder |
1⅓ c 1½ t |
basmati rice coarse salt |
| heat ghee til hot; add mustard seeds, cover while spattering; add asafoetida and kari for a few seconds (if using carrots, add, brown 3 add bean/rice mixture, stirring |
4 T 2 t 1 t 8 1 c |
usli ghee, or light sesame oil black mustard seed ground asafoetida fresh kari leaves (opt) carrots, diced ¼” pieces |
According to the author, this recipe works well as a main dish. Buy this book: it is the indispensable source for some of the favorite Indian meals.
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