Brown rice kuska

Ingredients

• Brown basmati rice, 1 cup.
• Onions, medium-size, 3.
• Tomatoes 2.
• Green chilies, 1-2.
• Ginger-garlic paste, 1 tablespoon.
• Chili powder, 1 teaspoon.
• Chopped mint leaves, ½ cup.
• Curry leaves and cilantro for garnishing.
• Cinnamon, 1 small stick.
• Bay leaf, large, 1.
• Cloves, 2.
• Star anise, 1.
• Cardamom, 2 pods.
• Fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon.
• Briyani masala powder, 1 teaspoon.
• Chicken broth or vegetable broth for cooking the rice, 1 cup mixed with 1 cup of water. The broth can be store bought or homemade, even fat-free versions are available in the groceries.
• Yogurt,1 tablespoon.
• Salt as per taste.
• Cashews, 1 tablespoon.

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Preparation

• Wash the rice well and soak it for 30 minutes and cook the rice in the chicken or vegetable broth until the grains are fluffy.
• The rice can be cooked either in pressure cooker or microwave. If pressure cooker is used for cooking, cook the rice just up to 3 whistles. Let the rice cool.
• Meanwhile dice the onions and tomatoes finely. Heat a thick bottomed pan, with 2 tablespoons of oil. When the oil turns hot, add all the spices and cashews and let them fry for a minute.
• Then add the chopped onions and curry leaves and sauté them for a few minutes until the onions turn brown. Now add the chopped tomatoes, slit green chilies, ginger-garlic paste and keep sautéing until everything is blended.
  
• Add the chili powder, briyani masala, yogurt, and salt and let it cook for a few more minutes. When the mixture is well blended and good smell starts coming from the mixture.
• Add the cooked brown rice, chopped mint and cilantro leaves, mix everything and lower the flame. Cook closed for 15 minutes under low flame and switch off the stove.
• Another method is at this stage, the contents can also be transferred to a baking dish and closed with an aluminum foil as tightly as possible and cooked in a preheated oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve hot kuska with raita and any spicy vegetarian or non-vegetarian dishes and enjoy.