Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • ½ Cup Basmati rice
  • 1 Cup Water
  • 1 tbsp Warm Milk
  • ¼ tsp Saffron Strands
  • 2 Pinch Yellow Food Colour ((Optional))
  • ½ Cup Sugar
  • ¼ Cup Ghee
  • 4 Cardamom
  • 6 Cloves
  • 8 Cashews
  • 8 Almonds
  • 2 tsp Raisins

Instruction

  • Rinse the basmati rice 2 to 3 times. Soak it in water for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Do not skip this step, as soaking gives softness to the rice and helps in easy cooking too. Then, measure 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup of sugar and keep aside.
  • Soak 1/4 tsp of saffron in 1 tbsp of warm milk. Also, you can reduce the saffron to 1/8 tsp, (but the color will be pale yellow) and add 2 pinches of turmeric powder, which is a natural ingredient, or add 1 pinch of yellow food color. Then, measure the cloves, cardamom, raisins, slit the cashews and almonds.
  • Heat 2 tsp of ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan. Then, add the cashews, almonds, and raisins. Roast till nice aroma wafts and it turns to golden brown color.
  • Keep the roasted dry nuts and raisins separately.
  • To the same pan, pour 2 tbsp of ghee. Then, add the cloves and cardamom. Roast for few seconds, until you get a nice aroma.
  • Pour 1 to 1.5 cups of water. Once the water starts to roll boil, add the saffron strands with milk.
  • Drain the water completely from the soaked rice. Completely lower the flame and now add the rice.
  • Cover it with a lid and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, the rice grains look fluffy and the water would have evaporated (don't make it completely dry else the rice grains burns and smells bad).
  • Take a rice grain and press it with your fingers to check the doneness (ensure it is properly cooked and soft, before adding the sugar, else it won't get cooked after that). Slowly add the sugar in a sprinkled way.
  • The sugar melts and loosens the rice mixture. Mix well but gently, so that the sugar gets mixed evenly with cooked rice grains. Cook till the sugar solution dries up and then add 2 to 3 tbsp of ghee. (After cooking, if in case the rice grains feel hard or dense, then cover the pan with a damp cloth or cotton napkin. Cover with a lid and cook the pulao for 50 seconds).
  • Once there is no liquid consistency, add the roasted cashews, almonds, and raisins. Mix well and switch off the flame.
  • Serve this zarda rice hot or warm. Alternatively, you can spread this sweet rice on a large plate and then serve.Do try this Meethe Chawal for this upcoming Basant Panchami festival.