Kaaju Badam Chawal (Cashew-Almond Rice)

This rice was EPIC! Easily my favourite rice dish from this book so far. The cashews, almonds, onion, and ghee make it deliciously rich and flavourful while the mint adds a hit of freshness without actually making it taste "minty". We had it with Gujarati kadhi and mirchi nu shaak, but I struggle to think of any curries that it wouldn't be delicious with. I can't believe it's taken us this long to try it! I suspect I'm going to be using mint a lot more often from here on out.

Kaaju Badam Chawal

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 1/4 c. slivered almonds
• 1/4 c. (or more) raw cashews
• 4 dried bay leaves (Indian/cassia or bay laurel)
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 c. long-grain brown rice
• 1 c. water
• 1/2 c. fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns, coarsely cracked

Directions

1. Heat ghee on sauté "medium" on InstantPot (or medium-high heat on stove).
2. Add onion, almonds, cashews, and bay leaves and cook until nuts are toasted and onion is softened and beginning to brown (~5 minutes).
3. Add rice and stir once or twice to coat with ghee.
4. Add water, seal cooker, and pressure cook on "high" for 20 minutes.
5. Allow a 10-minute natural release.
6. Release any remaining pressure, fluff rice, and stir in mint and cracked pepper.