Jess
Silver Post Medal for All Time! 267 Posts 
This is an Indian rice side dish with green beans, carrots, peas and cauliflower. It calls for cardamom pods, which can be difficult to find in regular grocery stores. Look at an Indian grocery or health food store, such as Whole Foods. I was able to buy just what I needed in the bulk section.
This recipe was from a recent Costco Connection magazine about Indian cooking. It was relatively time consuming and the rice to veggie ratio was lower than I expected. Next time, I will probably double the veggies.
Total Time: about 40 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 cups long grained rice, such asJasmine)
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds
- 4 Tbsp canola oil
- 1 large carrot, cut into sticks
- 1/2 cup green beans, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/2 cup cauliflower, chopped to 1/2 inch
- 1/4 cup frozen peas
- 12 whole cloves
- 20 black peppercorns
- 10 cardamom pods
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 tsp salt
Steps:
- Rinse two cups of rice until clear, 2-3 water changes. When the water runs clear, soak rice for 20 - 30 minutes then drain.
- Use a large skillet or wok. Saute the slivered almonds in the butter for 3 to 4 minutes. They will start to turn quickly so don't walk away. It is easy to burn them. You could also use toasted slivered almonds or toast them in the microwave to eliminate the extra butter. These will be used to garnish the rice at the end so set aside.
- Turn up the heat to medium-high and add 2 Tbsp. of canola oil. When oil is hot, add in all veggies (except for frozen peas). Cook until everything is crisp-tender and the edges are starting to brown. Remove from pan and set aside until later.
- Add another 2 Tbsp. of oil, turn down the heat to medium and heat spices in the oil for a minute or two. They should start to smell good. Add in the rice. Increase the heat back to medium-high and cook the rice in the pan for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Add 3 1/2 cups of water and the salt to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for about 12 minutes, until rice is soft.
- Uncover rice and fluff with a fork. Carefully stir in cooked veggies and frozen peas. Cover and cook for an additional 5 minutes then turn off heat. Let sit another 5 minutes.
- Pull out any large spices that you can pull out easily. Sprinkle toasted almonds on top of the rice before serving or on each individual serving.
Whole peppercorns, cloves and cardamom pods are mixed into the final dish and are difficult to pick out before serving. I told my family to eat at your own risk. Powdered spices might make this dish easier to serve but it will change the flavor.
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