Fried Rice

This is a regular feature on  my dining table during lunch on most Sundays :)

Preparation time - 30 minutes of soaking rice

Cooking time - 20 minutes

Ingredients:

Basmati rice - 2 cups

Water - 4 cups, boiling hot

Cloves - 4-5

Cinnamon - 2'' stick

Onions - 2, medium, finely chopped

Oil - 4 tbsp

Salt - to taste

For garnishing:

Ghee - 2 tbsp,

Cashew nuts - 10, split

Raisins - 2 tbsp

Onions - 1, small, finely sliced

Method:

1. Soak the rice for half an hour. Drain and keep aside.

2. In a kadai, heat oil. Add the cinnamon and cloves. When they stop spluttering, add the finely chopped onions. Saute till they turn translucent.

3. Add the rice and keep frying for 5-6 minutes.

4. Now, add the boiling hot water and salt. Mix and close the lid. Cook on medium heat for 8 minutes.

5. Open the lid and see if the rice is cooked. Also check for any traces of water.  If there aren't any, then, gently mix the rice and remove from heat.

6. Heat 2 tbsp of ghee in a pan. To this add the split cashew nuts and saute till they turn light brown.
Remove them and keep aside. Repeat the same procedure with raisins and the sliced onions.

7. Transfer the rice to a serving dish and garnish with the browned cashew nuts, raisins and onions.

8. Serve the rice hot with any gravy dish preferably along with raita.