Masoor Pulav / Brown Lentil Rice

Easy breezy and yummy masoor pulav. To tell you the truth i wasn't familiar with this dish even when i was in india (yeahh). I started preparing it only when i moved to US. It happened one saturday afternoon, when i was feeling super lazy and wanted to cook something that took no more than 30 mins. After a lot of pondering i decided to cook veg pulav (rice with veggies) and told hubby my plan. He just about agrees to everything and eats whatever i put in front of him :P ......however on this particular day he said...why don't you cook masoor pulav?.....whaaat? Masoor pulav? Whats that?.....Was my reaction. He simply said just prepare the masoor bhaji like you do and add rice to it. Simple. OHH interesting... Apparently he knows it because my MIL cooks it often. So i came up with my very own version of masoor pulav. 

So people,  this is a quick delicious lunch or dinner dish which can be prepared in 30 - 35 mins. So whenever you are super lazy like me on a saturday or sunday afternoon go ahead and give this a try, unless you don't wanna cook at all. 



Prep time: 10 - 15 mins 
Cook time: 15 mins 
Total time - 30 mins 

This recipe will serve up to 2- 3 person

Ingredients:
1 cup of good quality basmati rice (washed and soaked in water for 15-20mins)
1/4 - 1/3 cup of masoor dal/ red lentil (par cooked/partially cooked) - you can adjust the quantity as per your requirement
1 medium onion chopped 
1 tomato chopped 
2 green chillies chopped 
1 tbsp of ginger garlic paste
1 1/2 cups of water

Garam Masala 
1 tsp of cumin seeds or you can also use shahi jeera 
4 - 5 cloves
4 - 5 whole pepper 
1 bay leaf
2  cardamom (elichi)
1 - 2 star anise 
1 - 2 cinnamon sticks 

Dry Masala
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon of red chilli powder
1 1/2 teaspoon of coriander powder 
1/2 tsp of cumin powder 
3 - 4 tablespoon of vegetable oil 
Salt as required
Cilantro/coriander leaves for garnishing

You can adjust the spice level of the pulav by increasing or decreasing the garam masala / dry masala as per you requirement.

Method:

1) Wash the basmati rice thoroughly 2 - 3 times in cold water. Add water and keep it aside. Before you start with the prep work par cook the lentils in a pressure cooker (its a lot quicker) or in a pan with water and little salt.

Note:
1) Soaking the rice for few mins helps the rice cook faster also generally the rule of thumb for preparing pulav is 2 cups water for 1 cup rice. Here since the rice was already soaked in water for 15 mins, i only added 1 and 1/2 cups of water to it. 
2) If you don't par cook the lentil and add it as is, the rice will cook faster and the lentil will remain uncooked (yes that happened to me once :( ). 

2) In a heavy bottomed saucepan (kadhai) heat the oil. Add the garam masala and saute for about 1 or 2 minute. Add the ginger garlic paste, onions and green chillies and cook until the onions become translucent. 

3) Now add the dry masala and the tomatoes and cook until the oil starts to separate. 

4) Add the par cooked lentil and mix. Drain the basmati rice and add it along with the lentils. Mix gently, careful enough to not break the rice. Add water, salt to taste and cover the pan with a lid. The rice and lentil will be cooked in about 15 - 20mins. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with pickle or yogurt.








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