Kala Elachi Pulao (Black Cardamom Pulao)

This is a simple rice dish that jazzes things up a bit by adding a few spices (and a lot of saffron) to the rice while it cooks. I did the sautéing in the InstantPot and then just added the rice and water in on top and cooked it as usual. One thing to be wary of when doing this is that you'll need to give the rice a few extra minutes at pressure since the pot is already hot by the time you're adding it. I'm still dailing in exactly how long it needs. The usual 18 minutes wasn't quite enough. I'll try 20 next time and see how that goes.

I'm normally fairly wary of black cardamom, but it just gently infuses the rice in this dish without being overpowering. Just don't bite into one of the pods! The relatively large amount of saffron may seem like a bit much, but I found it balanced out well once combined with everything else. I made my pulao with long-grain brown rice, but I do think this would've been stellar with a nice white basmati rice. The lighter backdrop (in both colour and flavour) would've really let the spices shine. If you do decide to make it with white rice, don't forget to reduce the cooking time accordingly. White rice should only need four or five minutes at high pressure!

Kala elachi pulao (centre), with several curries surrounding it.

Kala Elachi Pulao

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 5 black cardamom pods
• 2 bay leaves (Indian or bay laurel)
• 1 onion, halved and sliced thin
• 1/2 tsp. saffron threads
• 1 c. long-grain brown rice
• 1 c. water

Directions

1. Set InstantPot to Sauté on medium heat.
2. Add ghee and allow it to melt and heat up.
3. Add cardamom pods and bay leaves and cook for 30-60 seconds.
4. Add onion and cook for 3-5 minutes.
5. Stir in the saffron.
6. Add the rice and water.
7. Cancel Sauté, seal InstantPot, and set it to pressure cook on high for 20 minutes.
8. Allow a 10 minute natural release, then fluff the rice with a fork or rice paddle.
9. Serve with your favourite curries. (Iyer recommends rogan josh in particular.)