Capsicum Pulao

I can be greedy sometimes which always ended up with left over food in my fridge and the very next day i have to flip cookbooks or cracking my head searching for recipes for my left over. I had a full bowl of left over basmati rice in my fridge from last night dinner and you know well how expensive the grains are to simply dumb into a bin instead, i decided to throw them into my pan with some spices and fresh capsicum.

Capsicum pulao is a mild, simple pulao which can be served with any gravy of your choice. This rice dish loaded with aromatic spices and richness from the ground cashew paste. I used green,red and yellow capsicums for their flavor and colur. I love the colur combination from the tri-colured capsicum in the dish and its absolutely gorgeous. Capsicum are known for their anti oxidant properties which, are great for fighting free radicals in human body. Capsicums are packed with Vitamin C and do you need any more reason or excuse to dish out this colurful rice on your dinner table tonight??

Ingredients

1/3 cup chopped capsicum(red,yellow and green)
1 cup cooked basmati rice
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 cardamom pods
1 star anise
3 4 cloves
1/2' inch cinnamon stick
1 tbsp ghee
1 tsp oil
Salt to taste

To Grind

6-8 cashew nuts
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp black peppercorns


Methods

In a blender or grinder, grind cashew nuts,black peppercorns and garlic with little water into a fine paste.

In a pan, over a medium heat, add oil and ghee. Saute the star anise,cloves,cardamom and cinnamon stick for 15 seconds.

Add the ground cashew paste and saute for another 1-2 minutes. Add the chopped capsicum. Fry for 4-6 minutes.

Add garam masala powder and salt. Stir for 1-2 minutes. Add the cooked basmati rice and mix well to combine with the masala. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the rice well coated with the masala. Remove from heat.

Serve hot