Polaw is a rice casserole with vegetables where you can use all kinds of vegetables. Today I made mushroom polaw and it was really good! If you serve this with a tandoori dish and raita , the family will be happy. At least that's what happens with me. Chili in rice is very unusual for a Norwegian palate, so here you just have to adjust to your own taste. As you can see, I have both chili powder and fresh chili, which can be a bit spicy if you don't like spicy food.
Polaw is a Persian inspired dish that is very common, especially in North India and it is best to use quality basmati rice . Feel free to try my basmati rice. Basmati means fragrant and tastes better than round grain rice, I think. The rice should be cooked with the lid on. I have used mushrooms, but you can use other types of vegetables instead or in addition to mushrooms, but then it will not be mushroom polaw anymore.
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MUSHROOM POLAW
6 tablespoons oil or ghee
1 bay leaf
5 cloves
3 green cardamoms
3 cm cinnamon
2 teaspoons cumin
100 gr onion strips
3 cloves grated garlic
150 g tomatoes
1 fresh chili
3 tablespoons fresh coriander
3 tablespoons fresh mint
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 ¼ tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
250 g mushrooms
2 dl water
4 dl rice
Procedure:
- Rinse the rice 3-4 times and soak in double the amount of water.
- Heat oil or ghee, add whole spices and let everything sauté for 1 minute on medium heat.
- Add cumin and onion strips. Fry until the onion turns light brown, add garlic and diced tomato, chili, herbs and spices.
- Let everything fry until the tomato becomes soft, add the mushrooms in large slices and water.
- When the water boils, add the rice and cook with the lid on until the water is almost gone.
- Let it simmer on low heat for the last 5-6 minutes.
