Phalahari pulao Recipe

Try something new this weekend, enjoy phalahari pulao.


Ingredients:
1 cup cooked rice
1 tsp cashewnuts
1 tsp raisins
4 glazed cherries
1/2 cup paneer cubes
1/2 cup boiled peas
2 green chilies, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 stick cinnamon
4 cloves
4 cardamoms
1/4 cup tinned cocktail fruits
1/2 tsp saffron strands
4 tsp desi ghee
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp pulao masala or curry masala 


Procedure:
Heat the ghee and fry the cashew nuts and raisins separately and keep aside. 
In same ghee add the cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms and green chilies and fry again. 
Add the cooked rice, paneer, green peas, fruit pieces and salt pepper and pulao or curry masala and mix well. 
Warm the saffron a little on tawa, rub in a little warm water and add to the rice. 
Decorate with the fried cashew nuts, glazed cherries and raisins before serving.
Serve hot with curds, raita or curry.

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Creamed Spinach

Creamed spinach makes a nutritious sauce that goes well with almost any dish.

Ingredients
500 g fresh spinach (or whole frozen spinach leaves)
2 dl of water
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 dl of cream
black pepper

or

400 g of chopped spinach, fresh or frozen
1 1/2 tbs of flour
1 dl of milk
1/2 tsp of salt
black pepper

Procedure
Creamed spinach can be done in two different ways. Either with whole spinach or with chopped spinach.

With whole spinach, first boil the fresh spinach leaves and the salt in the water for about 5 minutes. If you use frozen spinach, follow the instructions on the box. Note that spinach is high in nitrites which means you may not have to use as much salt as you might think. After boiling for 5 minutes remove the water and let the spinach "dry" for a minute or so. Put the spinach back into the pan and add the cream. Boil for a few more minutes and add salt and pepper to taste. Instead of cream the spinach can be quickly fried in about 1 tbs of butter.

With chopped spinach, first boil the fresh spinach leaves as above or gently thaw the frozen (chopped) spinach in a little bit of water in a pan. Mix the flour with the chopped spinach in the pan and add the milk. Bring the spinach to the boil and boil gently for 3-5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

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