Aloo Paneer Pulao (Potato and Paneer Pulao)

This pulao caught my eye because the inclusion of paneer adds a bit of protein and means that I don't feel the need to come up with a super substantial curry to serve it with. I had planned on following Iyer's recommendation to serve it with a vegetable curry, a raita, and papads. ToxicFrog made the raita to go with it the night before and I cooked the pulao and the papads the next morning. I ran out of time and energy to make the curry though. Still... as a light lunch, the pulao, papads, and raita went over really well! Maybe I can make that veggie curry to go with the leftovers tomorrow.

The original recipe is written for white rice. I prefer brown these days, so I had to adjust the recipe slightly to compensate for the longer cooking time of the brown rice. I thin my adjustments worked out reasonably well. Where I ran into problems, however, was with the size of pot I used. Really, I shouldn't've been using a pot at all. What this recipe really wants is a large frying pan/skillet with a tightly fitting lid. (Or possibly a large Dutch oven, but I think a good, large frying pan would be my first choice.) It fit in the pot just fine, but required too much stirring which broke the paneer up more than I would've liked. I think a larger surface area would've worked much better for this one. Still tasty, just not quite optimal.

Raita-topped pulao with a flame-toasted papad on the side. Yum!

Aloo Paneer Pulao

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1 c. long-grain brown rice
• 3 1/2 c. water, divided
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 russet (or other floury) potato, cut into 5-6mm cubes
• 150g Paneer, cut into 5-6mm cubes
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 4 fresh green Thai or cayenne chilies, sliced thin
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Combine rice with 2 c. water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Reduce heat to medium and boil for 10 minutes.
3. Cover and set aside. (Rice will not be fully cooked. This is okay.)
4. In a large frying pan with a tightly fitting lid, melt ghee over medium-high heat.
5. Add cumin seeds and sizzle for 15-20 seconds.
6. Add potato, paneer, onion, and chilies and stir-fry for ~10 minutes.
7. Add rice and salt and give it a brief, gentle stir.
8. Add remaining water.
9. Boil uncovered and without stirring for until water is gone from surface and craters start to form in the rice mixture (~5-8 minutes).
10. Carefully stir to move the contents from the bottom to the top.
11. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for another 10 minutes (8 minutes for electric range).
12. Remove from heat and allow to sit covered and undisturbed for a further 10 minutes.
13. Uncover and fluff with fork.
14. Serve with raita, papads, and/or a vegetable curry of your choice.