Herbed Rice With Julienne Potatoes
indian, rice, vegetarian
1 cup basmati rice
2 medium potatoes, peeled
1/2 tablespoon fresh ginger
2 teaspoon green chilies, minced
1/4 cup coconut
2 tablespoon parsley, fresh
3 tablespoon ghee
6 whole cloves
1 1/2 inch piece cinnamon stick
1 small bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1/2 cup frozen peas, defrosted
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon ghee
5 lemon wedges to garnish
Wash the potatoes & cut them evenly into julienne strips.
Combine the ginger root, chilies, coconut, parsley in a bowl. Add a little water or soy milk, mix well. Drop in potato strips. Set aside.
Heat the ghee in a heavy pot, drop in the whole cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf. Fry till the cumin seeds turn brown. Add the marinated potatoes & stir fry till they are lightly browned.
Add the rice, salt, turmeric, lemon juice, water & sugar. Stir & quickly bring to a full boil.
Reduce heat to very low & cover with a tight fitting lid. Simmer gently for 20 to 25 minutes. 5 minutes before the end, add the peas.
Remove lid, turn off heat & add 1 tb ghee. Let rice sit for 5 minutes. Fluff & garnish each portion with lemon wedges.
Adapted from Yamuna Devi, "The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking"
Yield: 5 servings