Makes about 3 servings
This is one of those Marie Curie moment - where you 'accidentally' invent something. ;)
I wanted to make some pulav but ran out of mint (pudhina) and cilantro leaves. As I was scanning my pantry, the 777 podhina thokku pickle caught my eyes. A little makeover and here it is - the tasty 'Podhina Thokku Pulav'.
- Soak 1 cup of basmati rice in 1 cup of water and prep your veges
- Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan
- Temper with 1tsp of mustard seeds, 0.5tsp of cumin seeds, 1 spring of curry leaves, 1 long green chilly slit lengthwise, 3 red chillies
- Saute 1/2 large red onion finely chopped until they turn translucent
- Add about 6 mushrooms sliced and saute for few minutes
- Add 1/4 cup of cut green beans
- Fry them all until mushroom is slightly cooked
- Here comes the unusual ingredient: pudhina thokku pickle. Add 2 tsps of it
- Stir the contents until the veges are coated with the thokku
- Add the rice along with the water
- Adjust salt - your thokku has a lot of salt so you need not add any. If at all you have to, use a pinch of kosher salt if you have
- Add 1.25 cups of water and stir again
- Toss a handful of fried onions (optional)
- Cover the pan and cook on medium flame for about 8 minutes
- Then turn down the flame to the lowest possible and simmer it for another 10minutes. Do not open the lid in between.
- Serve hot with raita and pickle
- You can give the same treatment to your leftover mint chutney and make quick and easy tasty pulav in about 20 mins
