Name: Jain Kaju Draksh Pulao
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: ¾ cup Basmati Rice, soaked and drained; ¼ cup Cashews, halved; ⅛ cup Raisins, golden or dark; 1½ tbsp Ghee; 2 Green Cardamom, lightly crushed; 2½ Cloves; ½ inch Cinnamon Sticks; ¼ tsp Black Peppercorns, freshly cracked; ½ tsp Salt, to taste; 1¼ cup Water

50 mintotal

35 min hands-on15 min hands-off

Prep 15 min · Cook 20 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Easy
Spice: Low

Add to your week

Method

In a heavy pot, heat the ghee over medium-low heat. Add the cashews and fry them steadily until they turn an even pale golden.
Add the raisins to the hot ghee. Toss them for a second or two and take them out the moment they plump up. Lift the nuts and raisins out with a slotted spoon and set them aside.
Add the green cardamom, cloves and cinnamon to the flavoured ghee left in the pot. Let them sizzle briefly so the fat takes up their warm aroma.
Introduce the flawlessly drained Basmati grains directly into the active pot. Employ an ultra-delicate folding technique to micro-roast the rice within the spiced lipid environment for exactly 2 minutes, ensuring an impenetrable fat coating on every single grain.
2 min
Pour in the measured water. Add the salt and a good grind of black pepper. Stir once, gently, to combine. Bring it to a boil.
Turn the heat right down, cover tightly, and cook undisturbed for 15 minutes. Then turn the heat off and let it rest for 10 minutes.
15 min10 min
Uncover. Scatter the reserved fried cashews and raisins over the surface. Fluff the rice very gently with a fork and serve immediately.

How to tell it's done

Bright, separate grains of very buttery rice, broken up by the brittle snap of good cashews and bursts of concentrated sweetness from plumped golden raisins.

Nutrition

Per serving, from 2 servings.

463kcal

Where the calories come from

Protein8.4 g7%
Carbohydrate68.2 g59%
Fat17.6 g34%

Saturated fat: 7.2 g
Fibre: 2 g
Sodium: 593 mg
Calcium: 51 mg
Iron: 1.9 mg

Estimated by calculation from the ingredient list, using USDA FoodData Central. Not a laboratory analysis.

Getting it right

Tip

Fry the cashews and raisins first and keep them aside until the very end. That way the cashews stay crunchy and the raisins don't soak up water and go soggy.

What to serve it with

Serve it with a rich Jain paneer makhani, or on its own under a thick spoonful of plain curd or a Gujarati kadhi.

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Ingredients