FRUITS n NUTS PULAV..!!!

A BIG Hiiii to all of ya out there..Yup..am back after a real long break..Its been almost 2 weeks since I came here n shared some tid bits n food with you all..:)..n I have tons of posts to catch up with as well..I did saw many of them,but couldn’t actually drop in n say a hi ,as I never got a chance to sit n relax n be into the blog mood..:) .I am coming up there to see what yummy things you all are cooking up..:)..So how was the long weekend for you all?Saw some pics in FB,orkut etc n hope you all had a wonderful time..:).For us,it was the first weekend that we got after about a month of trips n busy days,n we had it at home with friends n of course we did got to downtown..All that coming up..:).Thanks for all the comments n peep-in’s that you all did to see how I am doing..n yup it feel s good to be back.. n hey I have loads of things to share with you as well..But of course I dont wanna bore you to nuts with a 2 page long post.So I’ll quickly cram up everything in this small page..okies? So here we go..!! ;D

 

We got shifted to this pretty cute home of ours last weekend n since then I was totally on the run..Now you all know,how hectic a home shift can be..It really did make us go dead n slumber everyday into bed with aching tired bodies.But setting up the home is fun I must say I really enjoyed it..I mean we all do right..to shape our house into a home of our dreams..arranging the stuffs,putting up decor’s n cute things n list goes on..So it was all beautiful,but still I have many baggage's ,still unopened,full of clothes n junk stuffs.So literally we are not yet settled..lol..But that can wait I guess..:D..Luckily my delicate cookware's n porcelain pieces reached their shelves without any damages and thanks to you all for all the tips n wishes you passed on ..:D..So now am one happy soul in my new home,n this is a wonderfully pretty place with greens everywhere around..All our windows open to vast meadows n cute bright flowers around n once in a while some pretty duck with ducklings n cutie pie bunnies peep in to say hello’s..:)..Its so bright n cheerful here n cooking n having food is so good as we have this eye-soothing sceneries' around..:) This is just outside our patio..:)

On the cooking front,I did cook elaborately this weekend,when we had some dear friends coming home from Boston.We had them for Saturday dinner n I made some dishes,most of them ,I have it here in blog.I made this Fruits n Nuts Pulav ,Naan’s,Tandoori chicken,Fish fry n Butter Chicken n for dessert -  Brownies with chocolate ganache n icecream.Everything came out good,especially all liked the butter chicken and it tasted awesome the next day.Better than any hotel ones’ I felt..:)..Other than that ,I haven't started cooking on the experimental mode,to put up something here..:P..Hope to start soon..:).I am so addicted to Food network n Giada De’Laurentiis now.Love her..n I just wait for 12 30 noon to see her Everyday Italian..:D Have to try some of her’s..Any fans out there??

 

On sunday we went out with them to Seattle Downtown,Space Needle n Pike place Market..Oh Boy..!! Seattle was SO MUCH fun this weekend.We had the Folklore festival going on n there was music,dance ,magic n parades everywhere..So much of color n bright sunshine to top it all up..There was Food Fest also going on n in small food stalls they were serving delicacies of different places like Korea,Tibet,Greek n so on..Shame that my cam battery got down n I couldn't get the snaps..But It was all soo good,n the Pike place market was brimming with color’s n rare stuffs.They had a sale of multitudes of Home made fresh Pasta n Orzo’s n many of them were new to me.I picked up home, some of it n some Blood Oranges(It’s blood color inside n the juice looks like blood..:D),Fava beans,Dried Prunes n so on..n I also got this amazingly delicious Vanilla Peach preserves of Chukar’s,which was lip smacking delicious.All Seattleites',if you haven’t ever tried this,do get hold of a bottle..Its so damn good..!!

 

Haa..its getting loong…:D..So am rushing on to the recipe of Fruits n Nuts Pulav.Pulav is an Indian rice dish with Basmati rice as main item ,paired with spices n other accompaniment’s of choice.This is a simple one n similar to the royal Nawabi Pulav of Lucknow.Royal because it has got all royal stuffs in it..Nuts,fruits n saffron mingled with aromatic spices in pure Basmati rice..haa..sounds soo good right..really a royal dish..!:)..Last weekend,when we went for buffet in Spice route,they had this served n I got only the name of the dish.So I just reproduced it my way,n its so rich n yum..Perfect pair with my butter chicken n all other items..:)

The pics I have here was taken from our  dining room window side,n I liked the natural shadow..:)

What I did :

I took a cup n half of Basmati rice n after cleaning it 2 rounds,soaked it in 2 cups of water for 30 minutes.

Heated a Kadai,threw in an inch of cinnamom,2 cloves n 2 cardamom n dry roasted for a while until aromatic.

Then added some ghee n when the spices spluttered,added 2 bay leaves as well.

Then I threw in 1/2 a cup of sliced shallots n sprinkled some sugar over it n fried lightly.

Then I added the rice(saving the soaked water) and fried it with all the spices n onions for sometime,till it turned opaque.

Time to add the water in which rice was soaked,sprinkled enough salt n brought it to a boil.

Then lowered the heat,closed it with lid n simmered it for a while.

Meanwhile,I heated ghee in another kadai n added almost a cup of silvered almonds,nuts,raisins n craisins(you can even add finely chopped tootty-frootty) n fried for a while till the fruits got plump n nuts browned.

By then the rice was cooked,still moist though.So I popped in the rice into the other kadai with fruits n nuts n fluffed n mixed it with a spork.

Meanwhile,I had a few strands of saffron soaked in about 1/4 cup warm milk.When it turned a shade of deep yellow,I poured that over the pulav n fluffed well again.Adjusted salt n let it sit for a while.

 

Delicious Fruits n Nuts Pulav is ready to serve..:)..n am sending this to the monthly mingle-rice of Nags n Meeta..:)

Thank to Swapna n Lena for passing me the I love your blog award..

Also Pooja passed me the chirpy n cheerful blog award for being chirpy n cheerful n spreading aura of happiness ,as she says..:)

..thanks a ton to you all 3..:)

That's it for now..See ya all soon..Have a great week ahead..:)

Hugs