Vegetable and Lentil Pulao

Preparation :20 mins
Cook :35 mins
Total Time :1101 hours 50 minutes
Servings :Makes 6 servings

Ingredients :

For The Rice-dal Mixture
1 1/4 cups rice (chawal) soaked for 30 minutes and drained
3/4 cup toovar (arhar) dal
1/2 cup thinly sliced deep-fried onions
3/4 cup chopped and boiled mixed vegetables (french beans , carrots and green peas)
2 pinches saffron (kesar) strands dissolved in 2 tsp of milk
salt to taste

For The Curry
2 tbsp ghee
1 cup whisked fresh curds (dahi)
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste

To Be Ground Into A Smooth Onion Paste (using A Little Water)
1/2 cup roughly chopped onions
2 tbsp grated fresh coconut
4 whole dry kashmiri red chillies , broken into pieces
25 mm (1”) piece ginger (adrak)
4 garlic (lehsun) cloves
1 tbsp poppy seeds (khus-khus)
2 cardamoms
2 tsp coriander (dhania) seeds
1 tsp roasted cumin seeds (jeera)

Other Ingredients
2 tsp ghee for greasing
2 tbsp milk
1/2 cup deep-fried onions

For Serving
fresh curd

Method :

For the rice-dal mixture
For the rice-dal mixtureBoil the rice. Each grain of the cooked rice should be separate. Drain and keep aside.Combine the dal and 1½ cups of water in a deep non-stick kadhai and cook on a medium flame for 10 to 15 minutes or till the dal is cooked. Keep aside.Combine the rice, dal, mixed vegetables, fried onions, saffron-milk mixture and salt in a bowl and mix well.Divide the rice-dal mixture into 2 equal portions and keep aside.
For the curry
For the curryHeat the ghee in a broad non-stick pan, add the prepared onion paste and cook on a medium flame for 2 to 3 minutes, while stirring occasionally.Remove from the flame, add the curds, sugar and salt and mix well. Keep aside.
How to proceed
How to proceedGrease a microwave safe baking bowl with ghee, put 1 portion of the rice-dal mixture and spread it evenly using the back of a spoon.Pour the prepared curry and spread it evenly.Finally put all the remaining rice-dal mixture and spread it evenly.Pour the milk over it, cover with a lid and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180ºc (360ºf) for 15 to 20 minutes or microwave on high for 5 to 7 minutes.Just before serving, turn upside down on a big serving plate.Serve immediately with fresh curds.