Ingredients:
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Thai green chilies
- Oil
- Red onions
- Roma tomatoes
- Red chili powder
- Turmeric
- Curry powder
- Cumin
- Cardamom powder
- Garam masala
- Cashews
- Whole milk
- Paneer
- Salt
- Coal and ghee for smoking
- Chopped coriander for garnish
- Basmati rice
- Ghee
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Cardamom
- Maze
- Star anise
- Water (around 16 cups)
- Salt
- Fried onions
- Saffron milk blend (saffron threads soaked in milk and warmed)
Masala recipe:
- Grind a 4ish-inch piece of ginger, 6-8 cloves of garlic, and 3-4 Thai green chilies into a paste.
- Heat oil in a pan and add the ginger-garlic-chili paste. Saute for 1 minute.
- Finely chop 4-5 large red onions and add them to the pan. This is the most important step. Let the onions saute for about 30 minutes until they turn brown and into a paste-like consistency.
- Blend 5-6 Roma tomatoes and add them to the pan. Let the water from the tomatoes boil off.
- Add 2-3 teaspoons of red chili powder, 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric, 2-3 teaspoons of curry powder, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1/2ish teaspoon of cardamom powder, and 1-2 teaspoon of garam masala. Cook the spices for a few minutes.
- Add 12-15 cashews blended to a paste (this is important), followed by 2-3 cups of whole milk (no water).
- Add 1/2 kg of paneer to the pan and cook to a thick gravy-like consistency.
- Add salt to taste and smoke using coal and ghee.
Rice recipe:
- Wash 4 cups of basmati rice in water until the water runs clear. This is an important step to remove excess starch.
- In a large pot, add ghee and fry whole spices such as cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, maze, and star anise.
- After frying, remove the spices and discard them.
- Fill the pot with around 16 cups of water and add a lot of salt to saturate the water. Keep in mind that not all of the salt will be absorbed by the rice.
- Add the washed rice to the pot and let it cook. After 8-10 minutes, as the water boils, you will see the rice bubbling to the top, indicating that the rice is about 80% cooked.
- Filter the entire pot in a mesh to remove the excess water and then wash the rice in cold water. This stops further cooking of the rice and ensures that it is fluffy and separated.
Layering:
- Add a layer of gravy at the bottom of a serving dish.
- Add a layer of cooked rice on top of the gravy.
- Sprinkle a layer of fried onions and coriander leaves over the rice.
- Drizzle a few teaspoons of saffron milk blend over the onions and coriander leaves.
- Repeat the layering process until the serving dish is full, with the final layer being a layer of gravy.
- Optionally, garnish the top layer with additional fried onions and coriander leaves for added flavor and presentation.
Dum: Close this entire pot and put it in the owen at 350F for 10-15 mins.