Wash the rice very gently and drain out all the water till the last drop
You have to wash the rice till the water is clear and the rice can be seenTip:- there should be absolutely no starch left in the rice You may have to wash the rice about 4-5 times
Let the rice Soak in the water for 20 -30 minutes
In the mean while, take a Big Vessel, add the ghee to it and place it on medium high flameTip:- the vessel has to be Really wide whenever you make Pulao.The more wider and bigger your vessel, the better your Pulao will be! This is so that each rice grain gets more space to cook and fluff up... I call it breathing space๐๐๐ Moving further, Once the ghee becomes hot, add all the whole spices i.e. Pepper corns, cloves, Cinamon, Cardamom, Star Anise(if using) and black Cardamom(if using)
Cover the vessel and let the whole spices cook in the hot ghee
Once all the flavour of the spices are into the ghee, add the onions, tomato, chillies, capsicum and other mixed vegetables(if using)
Stir it well and cover the vessel with the lid
Let all this cook until the onions turn Golden brown
Then add the sugar, salt, Maggie cubes and Turmeric powder and stir it well
Now drain out all the water from the Rice that has been soaking
Add the rice to the vessel and very gently mix it and let it it fry for 2-3 minutes
Add 10 cups of water into the vesselTip:- Always ensure you use the same mesauring cup for the Rice and the water. I have seen people very often taking this step as the least important step whereas this is one of the key steps to your perfect Pulao.. so please don't add in water to the Pulao vessel "in approximation" or as they say "andaaz see". The water has to be exact quantity.... So Same measuring Cup is the key.... Once you've added the water, stir it very gently and only ONCE.
Taste the water and check it has to taste salty
If not, add some salt to it
Turn the gas to high flame and cover the vessel
Let the Pulao cook on high flame until all the water from the rice is evaporated
In between, just open the lid and if you notice all the vegetables are on the surface of the Pulao, just take a fork and very gently mix it, again only ONCETips:--Do not keep opening the lid of the vessel-Do not keep stirring the pulao-If you have to stir, do so with a fork, not with a spoon or spatula and do it just once Once all the water from the Pulao has evaporated, turn off the flame and keep the Pulao vessel away from the gas burner
Keep it covered for 30 minutesTip:-We keep it covered because we have cooked the Pulao on high flame and we have removed the Pulao with the rice only half cooked. By keeping it covered, the remaining half gets cooked with the heat/steam inside the vessel and that's how your rice doesn't remain sticky After 30 minutes, open the lid, keep it half open for another 20minutes or so and then serve
This resting method after the flame goes off, is essential if you want that perfect grainy pulao
Enjoy your Pulao with any side dish or a gravy of your choice...๐๐๐