Tricolour Pilau Rice and Dahi Murgh

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A simple meal, yet so satisfying. I bought some chicken and asked my kids what would they like me to cook with the chicken. My daughter requested for Yoghurt Chicken, seconded by my son. Both of them love this dish, we all do. Have cooked this a number of times but it has been several months since I last cooked it. So Dahi Murgh (Yoghurt Chicken) it is! 

With some Pilau Rice and  slices of fresh cucumber, this is a simple and delicious meal. Both of them had seconds!

The Tricolour Pilau Rice actually got its name from the three different coloured veggies, carrots, peas and corns. Long grain basmati rice is used here. The spices that makes the rice fragrant are cumin seeds, cardamom pods, cloves, bay leaves and ground cumin. I have omitted the cashew nuts as my daughter does not like nuts, but if you are a fan of nuts, go ahead and add them right in. Please remove the cardamon pods, and the cloves before serving, they are really fragrant, but the taste is not pleasant when you happens to bite into any of these spices!

For the Dahi Murgh (Chicken and Yoghurt Curry), I have posted this before, you may get the recipe here. We love the gravy to go with rice, so I have doubled up the spices and added more coriander leaves inclusive of the roots (do not waste the roots, it is wonderfully fragrant) which makes this dish extremely fragrant. This is a mild dish that even kids could enjoy and is one of my family's favourite Indian style chicken dish, it really is delicious. I encourage you to give this a try, I'm sure you would love it. 

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Tricolour Pilau Rice

(source from "500 Curries" by Mridula Baljekar)

2 tsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 dried bay leaves
4 green cardamon pods
4 cloves
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely diced
1 cup basmati rice, rinsed and soaked for 30 minutes
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/3 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/4 cup cashew nuts, lightly fried
2 cups water
1/4 tsp ground cumin
salt

1. Heat the oil in a wok, karahi or large pan over medium heat, and fry the cumin seeds for 2 minutes.
2. Add the bay leaves, cardamom and cloves to the pan, and fry gently for about 2 minutes more, stirring the spices from time to time so they do not catch on the pan base.
3. Add the chopped onion to the pan and fry for about 5-6 minutes until lightly browned. Stir in the diced carrot and cook, stirring for a further 3-4 minutes.
4. Drain the soaked basmati rice and add to the contents of the pan. Stir well to combine the ingredients. Add the peas, corn and fried cashew nuts.
5. Pour the measured water into the pan and add the ground cumin. Season with salt to taste. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes over low heat until all the water is absorbed.
6. Leave the rice to stand, still covered, for 10 minutes. Transfer to a warmed serving dish and serve.

kitchen flavour's notes :

~ I cooked 2 cups of basmati rice, doubled the ingredients in the recipe, except  I use only 3-1/3 cup water for 2 cups of basmati rice.

~ Instead of fresh carrots, I use frozen mixed vegetables (a mixture of carrots, peas and corns). 

~ To cook using the rice cooker, follow instructions up to no. 5,  after adding water, cumin powder and salt, stir and transfer to the rice cooker, cook as usual.

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