Saffron Rice | Saffron Pulao(Pulav) Recipe | Pulao Varieties

Saffron is the one of the most expensive spices available. It adds a delicate sweet fragrance to any recipe.It is my most favorite spice and so I ensure that I stock it in my pantry.Unlike other spices, we don't add saffron in large quantities;a tiny pinch of saffron is more than sufficient to make your dish fragrant and colorful.You can spoil a dish, if you add them in more quantity,so adding required portion is also equally important.

Mostly Saffron is used in sweet varieties and some kind of rich pulaos and biryanis.You need to  crush them slightly and soak them in warm milk for sometime so that it can release its beautiful color and is then added to any kheer/biryani variety.Alternatively, you can crush them to a powder in mortar and pestle and add.I prefer to use the first option, as I like the look of beautiful saffron strands in my kheer/biryanis.

Indian Cuisine has lots of Rice and Pulao varieties from various parts of the country.However I prefer the spicier versions or mildly spicy pulaos over the sweetened ones,but again it depends on the side dish you prefer.Saffron pulao is a similar version to Kashmiri Pulao but the former is the slightly spicier version where as the latter is mildly sweetened and loaded with dry fruits and sometimes fruits.
On our daily basis, we usually prefer mildly spiced Indian gravies to go with rotis or pulaos.Saffron Rice is mildly spiced and hence you can pair it with spicy or mildly spiced gravies and dal varieties like Mirchi Ka Salan , Mixed Vegetable Kurma, Matar Paneer, Paneer Makhani, Vegetables Makhani,  Dal Fry,  Dal Makhani, Rajma Masala and Creamy Lobia.

Saffron Rice | Saffron Pulao(Pulav) Recipe:

Serves 2

Prep time:10 mins | Cooking time:30 mins | Total time:40 mins

Cuisine: Indian | Category: Rice | Pulav - Main Course

Ingredients:

1 heaped cup Basmati Rice

12-15 Cashew nuts

8-10 Mint leaves(optional)

1/8 tsp Turmeric powder(optional)

12-15 Saffron strands

3/4" Cinnamon

3-4 Cloves

2-3 Green Cardamom

1-2 Bay leaves

1 tsp Shahi jeera (black cumin seeds)

Salt to taste

1 tbsp Oil

1 tbsp Ghee
Caramelized onions,to garnish(optional)

Method:

• Wash and soak basmati rice in water for 10 mins.Do not wash more than twice as it looses its fragrance. 
• Crush the saffron strands slightly in hand and soak them in a tbsp of warm milk for 10-15 mins.
• Heat oil and ghee in a thick kadai/pan(or cooker) and fry cashew nuts until they turn golden in color and remove them and keep aside.In the same oil add shahi jeera and let them crackle.
• Add cloves,green cardamom,cinnamon and bay leaves and fry them for a minute.Slighly open the cardamom pods before adding so that they do not splutter.
• Add drained basmati rice and turmeric powder and fry well for a couple of minutes until its dry,do this step carefully as the rice might get broken.
• Add saffron strands soaked in milk to it.
• Add 2 cups of water and let it come to a boil and add salt and mint leaves and cover it and let it simmer for 12-15 mins until done.If you are preparing it in cooker,pressure cook for 1 whistle and simmer it for 5-7 mins.
• When the pressure drops,leave it for 10 mins and then gently fluff it up using a fork and add fried cashew  nuts and mix.
• Garnish with fried onions(optional) and cashew nuts.

Serve it hot with any mild gravy like Paneer Makhani,Vegetables Makhani or dals like Dal Fry,Dal Makhani ,Creamy Lobia and raitha, papad. I served it with Matar Paneer.

Notes:

1. Mint leaves are optional in the recipe.I usually add it if I have them otherwise I ignore adding them.
2. This is a mild spiced rice recipe which pairs well with any spicy curry.
3. You can add vegetables like carrots,peas,potatoes,beans,capsicum and make vegetable pulao following the same recipe.
4. The addition of ghee enhances the flavor of rice and pulaos,hence do not skip it.
5. You can even add 1/2 cup milk and reduce the  water by 1/2 cup in the recipe.
6. You can even add fried raisins for a slight sweet variation of this pulao.You can pair with rich gravies with Navratan Kurma,Paneer Butter Masala,Malai Kofta,Shahi paneer etc.
7. To caramelize onions fry thinly sliced onions in a tbsp of oil or ghee for few mins.Add a tsp of sugar to it and fry until it turns golden brown in color.You can even deep fry onion slices until golden brown and crisp.

 

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Shahi Paneer Recipe - Restaurant style Gravies

Paneer gravies like Paneer Makhani, Palak Paneer or Paneer Butter Masala are always a  hit and I am sure most of us prefer ordering at least one paneer gravy if we visit any restaurant. Another rich gravy in Paneer category is Shahi Paneer which is a royal recipe fit for special occasions. Shahi Paneer is a true rich gravy which is definitely a treat to any one.

The gravy for Shahi Paneer is not the usual tomato based one, it is prepared with less(or no) tomato and has a beautiful rich white gravy made up of onions, cashew nuts, cream, curd and milk and is scented with cardamom powder. This gravy is very aromatic and the taste of it lingers you even after a while you finish eating it.Take my words and try this Shahi Paneer recipe in your next party and I am sure everone will like it. I have mentioned few tips to make it low fat in case if those extra calories by cream is worrying you.

Shahi Paneer pairs up nicely with Naans, Kulchas or any other Indian flat breads and even with Jeera Rice, Matar pulav etc. Make sure you have the soft quality paneer to prepare this as we are even going to use the paneer in the gravy as well which is a real twist to the actual recipe and makes it even more delicious. As we are adding curd and milk in the gravy one should be careful while adding them to avoid the curdling- read the recipe carefully before you proceed to prepare the recipe.

Check out various Paneer Recipes in my blog:

• Kadai Paneer
• Palak Paneer
• Paneer Jalfrezi
• Paneer Bhurji
• Matar Paneer
• Paneer Sabzi
• Paneer Butter Masala
• Paneer Makhani 
• Grilled Corn-Palak Paneer

Shahi Paneer Recipe:

Serves 2-3

Prep time:10 mins | Cooking time: 30 mins| Total time: 40mins

Cuisine: Mughlai-Indian | Category: Gravies - Main Course

Ingredients:

200 gms Homemade Paneer (Cottage cheese) (or store bought)

1 small Tomato, finely chopped

1 tsp Coriander power

1/2 tsp roasted Cumin powder

1/2 tsp Home made Garam masala

1/2 tsp Red chili powder

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Kasuri Methi

3-4 tbsp. fresh cream or 1/4 cup Milk

2-3 tbsp. fresh Curd, beaten

1 Bay leaf

2 Cardamom pods, seeded and powdered

Salt to taste

2-3 tbsp. Oil/Ghee

2 tsp Coriander leaves, to garnish

to grind- Paste1:

2 Onions, roughly chopped

2-3 Green chillies

2 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste

to grind- Paste2:

8-10 Cashew nuts

1/4 cup Warm milk

1/4 cup(roughly 50 gms) grated Paneer

Method:

• Cut paneer into 1 1/2" squares of 1/2" thickness and dip them in medium hot water until its usage. You can even sauté them in butter for few minutes on both sides and then keep them immersed in hot water until its usage.

• Remove the skins of cardamom pods and pound the cardamom seeds in a mortar and pestle to a fine powder.
• Soak cashew nuts in warm milk for 10-15 mins.

• Grind soaked cashew nuts with warm milk and paneer pieces(or grated paneer) to a smooth and creamy paste(let us say this paste no-2).

• Bring 2-3 cups of water to a boil in a vessel and add roughly chopped onions and green chillies and boil until they turn slightly soft. Drain the onions and green chillies and once they come to room temperature. Grind them along with ginger-garlic paste to a very smooth puree(let us say this is paste no-1). The ginger-garlic paste I used had some turmeric powder and hence there is a slight change in color.
• Heat oil/ghee in a pan/kadai and add bay leaf and add ground paste-1(onion paste) and fry it for 2 mins and then add chopped tomato and fry it nicely until the paste stops sticking to the pan. It takes nearly 5-7 mins.

• Now add all the spice powders- red chili powder, garam masala, turmeric powder, roasted cumin powder and coriander powder and fry nicely until the whole mixture stop sticking to the pan. If necessary add few tbsp. of water while frying but do not let the masala burn at any stage.

• Remove the pan from the stove and add nicely beaten yogurt(curd) and mix it well. Bring it back on the burner on LOW flame and add 1/3- 1/2 cup water approx. and mix nicely and bring the gravy to a boil. Do not increase the flame from now on wards to avoid the curdling of gravy. The gravy thickens as it sits and hence make the gravy slightly thinner so that it would be of nice consistency during serving time.
• Add kasuri methi and salt to it and also the ground paste-2(cashew nut paste) and cream(milk) and mxi it nicely.

• Add paneer pieces and let the gravy comes to a boil on very low flame. It takes nearly 3-4 mins.
• Now add freshly pounded cardamom powder and give a gentle stir and switch off the flame.
• Garnish it with coriander leaves and grated paneer.

Serve it hot with flat breads like  Naan/Roti/Kulcha or Jeera rice/Bagara Rice/Matar Pulao

Notes:

1. Add nicely beaten curd and also add it to the pan by removing it from the flame to avoid curdling. From then onwards boil the gravy on low flame.
2. Do not miss the addition of paneer while grinding the cashew nuts , this really adds the richness and taste to the gravy and also you can avoid cream and add some milk instead to the gravy.
3. I love to cut the paneer pieces into squares for this gravy, you can cut them in cubes, triangles etc like the way you want.
4. I avoided turmeric powder adding to the gravy as the ginger-garlic paste already had enough turmeric in it.
5. Shahi Paneer is not a red colored based gravy. As we do not add more tomatoes and red chili powder to the gravy and also the addition of cream, cashew nut paste and milk at the end ensures that the gravy would be slightly whitish in color.
6. Add cardamom powder at the end to retain the flavor of it in the gravy.
7. You can even mash the paneer and add instead of grinding it but I prefer to grind it to get a smooth texture,You can do either ways.

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