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  • Hyderabadi Rice Pilaf Cooked In Clay

    2 votes
    Hyderabadi Rice Pilaf Cooked In Clay
    Prep: 1 1/2 hours Cook: 30 min Servings: 6
    by kathy gori
    643 recipes
    >
    When planning a company dinner I always like to go all out. I also like to have some dishes on the table that are relatively easy to set up and prepare. It's important to have a variety of tastes, textures and colors on the table in an Indian meal. My favorites are the ones that get off the stove top and tuck themselves into the oven out of the way and leave me in peace. If they look good when they come out of the oven, that's also a plus! One of the easiest ways of making food look stunning coming to the table is the dish it's served in. Even better, if that dish is the same one it's cooked in. Less washing. If you haven't gathered it by now, I'm nuts for clay. One thing I've learned is that there are as many types of clay pot as there are cooks in love with them. My favorite clay look is Rustic. The rougher, more down home the clay pot, the better I like it. All of my clay pieces fit the bill, and as they say about shoes, I believe about clay: You can never have too many clay pots! One of my very very favorite pieces to cook with is my Bram from where else? Bram Cookware. On New Years Eve I cooked a goat biryani in it.The other day I used it for a Hyderabadi Rice Pilaf. This dish is one that I've been making for years. It's an old Madhur Jaffery recipe. It's easy, tasty, feeds a lot of people and works with either a meat or veg meal. The reason it works so well and can even be taken as a main course with a few veg side dishes, is that it is a dish that combines both rice and dal! It makes a brilliant presentation when the top is popped at the table. Somehow I always expect 4 and 20 blackbirds to fly out, but that's just me. This dish is a real star. Serve it up, serve it in clay for a beautiful presentation. And did I mention it also rocks cold, picnic-style the next day?

    Ingredients

    • 1/2 cup of channa dal
    • 1/2 tsp of turmeric
    • 2 cups of rice
    • 1 large onion
    • 2 Tbs of oil
    • 2 tsp of ginger
    • 1 tsp of finely chopped garlic or shallot
    • 5 Tbs of yogurt
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 1/4 tsp kashmiri chili powder
    • 12 cups of water.
    • 2 Tbs of unsalted butter
    • 2 Tbs of lemon juice
    • 1 Tbs of chopped fresh mint
    • 2 to 4 finely chopped green chilis
    • 1 Tbs of finely chopped fresh cilantro
    • 1/2 tsp garam masala

    Directions

    1. 1.) Soak 1/2 cup of channa dal in 3 inches of water for 1 and 1/2 hours.
    2. 2.) Dump the dal and the water it's soaking in, into a pot
    3. 3.) Add 1/4 tsp of turmeric
    4. 4.) Boil the dal.
    5. 5.) When it's boiling, partially cover the pot with the lid and turn down the heat.
    6. 6.) Simmer the whole thing for about 30 minutes. The dal should be almost tender but not mushy. Drain it.
    7. At this point you can set it aside. This part can be done several hours ahead which makes things insanely easy.
    8. 7.) Wash 2 cups of rice and soak it in about 2 inches of water for 30 minutes. Then drain it.
    9. 8.) Peel, halve and thinly slice 1 large onion
    10. 9.) Heat about 2 Tbs of oil in a skillet and stir fry the onions until they're crispy golden brown.
    11. 10.) Remove them from the oil and drain them on a paper towel. Set them aside for later.
    12. Save that oil!
    13. 11.) Chop 2 tsp of ginger
    14. 12.) 1 tsp of finely chopped garlic or shallot
    15. Stir fry the ginger and garlic/shallot in the oil the onions were cooked in. Cook until they're light golden colored.
    16. 13.) Add in 1/4 tsp of turmeric and
    17. 14.) 1 Tbs of yogurt
    18. Stir the yogurt around until most of the liquid evaporates.
    19. 15.) Add 4 more Tbs of yogurt one at a time stirring each one in carefully.
    20. 16.) Put in the drained and cooked dal and
    21. 17.) 1/2 tsp salt
    22. 18.) 1/4 tsp kashmiri chili powder
    23. Mix it up well and cook the dal for about 1 minute.
    24. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
    25. In a large pot boil 12 cups of water.
    26. When there is a lively boil going on add in
    27. 19.) 1 Tbs of salt
    28. 20.) Add in the rice and bring it all to a nice boil once again.
    29. 21.) Boil the rice for 5 minutes only, then drain it.
    30. 22.) Put half of the rice into an oven-proof casserole dish
    31. 23.) Pour the cooked yogurty dal on top of it
    32. 24.) Layer the rest of the rice on top of that.
    33. Dot the top of the rice with
    34. 25.) 2 Tbs of unsalted butter cut into little pieces
    35. 26.) Scatter the fried onions over the rice
    36. 27.) Sprinkle 2 Tbs of lemon juice over the rice
    37. 28.) 1 Tbs of chopped fresh mint
    38. 29.) 2 to 4 finely chopped green chilis
    39. 30.) 1 Tbs of finely chopped fresh cilantro
    40. 31.) 1/2 tsp garam masala
    41. Once your toppings are on the rice, you're set for the oven. This dish is cooked in the manner the Indians call Dum.
    42. This is a way of bake-cooking where the dish is partially cooked, then sealed into the pot with a lid and finally a ring of flour water bread dough for a tight seal.
    43. In cooking with clay, I was advised by Paula Wolfert that I might not want to take the chance of damaging my clay pot while breaking the dough seal. Instead of the bread dough, I place a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil on top of the dish, crimping it around the sides for a tight fit. I place a heavy lid on top of that. It seems to work perfectly.
    44. Once the casserole is sealed and lidded, pop it into the oven for 30 minutes.

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    Reviews

    • Claudia lamascolo
      Claudia lamascolo
      wow this looks great!

      Comments

      • Citronetvanille
        Citronetvanille
        oh I love clay pots!!! I brought one back from France in my suitcase! and that rice must be beyond flavorful cooked in that claypot! Great recipe!

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