Capsicum & Potato Pulav

A simple pulav with raitha is always a simple and comfort meal for lunch after having a heavy south Indian breakfast on weekend mornings.Every time I ask my hubby what does he prefer for lunch,his answer would be still the same,a simple pulav/jeera rice as he does not like eating heavy elaborated meal as the morning breakfast itself would be so heavy on weekends.I always be in search of new type of rice dishes and that intensive search made me to buy Mallika Badrinath's -100 Rice delights book which has different varieties of pulav's and rice dishes.Each recipe is different from the other in its own way and preparation.It is always fun for me to try new recipes and waiting for the turn to taste it and this recipe is tried from her book and is loved at home.This is infact a life saver as it can be prepared with the minimal available vegetables at home and I am sure it will be definitely a party kind of pulav.

Ingredients:

1 cup Basmati rice
4-5 baby potatoes
2-3 Capsicum
2 Onions
1 cup tomato pulp
1 cup water
salt to taste
1/4 tsp garam masala powder
3 Laung
1"cinnamon
1 bayleaf
2 cardamoms
2 tbsp ghee/oil

Masala to grind:
2 1/2 tsp grated fresh coconut
7 red chillies
1 onion
1 tbsp fried gram
4 garlic pods
1 tsp dhaniya
1 or 2 Tomatoes


Method:
Wash basmati rice and soak in water for 10mins.Pressure cook potatoes for 2 whistles and then peel the skin.Dice the onions and capsicum into 1" cubes.Grind the ingredients mentioned under 'To grind' into fine paste without adding water.In a pressure cooker heat ghee/oil add dry masala's like laung,cinnamon,cardamom,bayleaf and fry for a minute.Add diced onions and fry until pink in color.Add diced capsicum and continue cooking for 2-3 mins.Add boiled baby potatoes and ground masala paste and fry until nice aroma starts.Add tomato pulp,water(1 cup) and add enough salt and let it boil.Add soaked and drained basmati rice and cover it with lid and let it cook on low flame for 10-12 mins(2 whistles).Add chopped coriander and mint to it and mix before serving.
Serve it hot with Onion raitha and papad and wait for the complements.