Ingredients:

• 4 cups – basmati rice, soaked in water
• 1 tbsp each – Garlic & Ginger paste
• 2 cups – fish pieces (approximately 1 inch)
• 3 – dry red chillies, ground
• 1/4 tsp – Turmeric powder
• 1 – Lemon
• 2 – medium Onions
• 15 – peppercorns
• 6 – Cloves
• 2 -1-inch sticks Cinnamon
• 8 white cardamoms, crushed
• 1.5 tsp – Cumin seeds powder
• 2 – Bay Leaves
• salt to taste
• Ghee and oil as required

Method:

1. Wash the rice and put in a colander to drain the water.
2. Clean the fish. Smear with a little salt and lemon juice. Keep aside for 1/2 an hour.
3. Cut the onions into thin slices.
4. Heat 3 tbsps of refined oil in a heavy-bottomed dekchi and season it with peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon sticks, crushed cardamoms and bay leaf.
5. Add the ground chillies and the pastes of ginger and garlic.
6. Stir and put in the fish. Fry till oil starts oozing out.
7. Put in the rice, turmeric, cumin seeds powder and enough salt.
8. Fry for some time so that the rice comes to a pale yellow colour.
9. Pour 3 cups of hot water and squeeze in the juice of the lemon. Make the fire medium.
10. Let it cook till the fish is tender and rice is cooked.
11. Heat 1.5 tbsps of ghee in another dekchi.
12. Put in the onion slices.
13. Fry till they are browned and become crisp.
14. Take out and keep aside.
15. Pour the ghee remaining in the dekchi over the ready fish pulav and mix well.
16. Transfer the pulav into a serving dish, garnish with the fried onion slices and serve hot.

Recipe courtesy of Malini Bisen