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Kashmiri modur pulav
Modur pulav: sweet saffron rice with ghee, cinnamon and dry fruit from Kashmir (also Himachal's mittha)
Modur means sweet in Kashmiri, and this ghee-rich saffron rice is served at Kashmiri weddings and on Navreh, the Pandit new year, glowing orange and studded with almonds, cashews and raisins. In the hills of Himachal Pradesh the dham feast ends with a near-identical sweet rice called mittha, so this one page covers both: Himachal cooks often add a little more raisin and a pinch of fennel, which you can do too. It is sweet but not dessert-sweet, perfumed with cinnamon and cardamom, and is eaten alongside savoury curries as well as on its own. Chef's tip: soak the saffron in warm milk for at least 15 minutes before you start; it gives the rice its colour far more evenly than strands scattered dry.
- Total time
- 70 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Crumble ½ tsp saffron strands into 3 tbsp warm milk and leave it to steep while the rice soaks. It turns deep orange.
15 minStep 2: Heat 4 tbsp ghee in a heavy, wide pan over a medium-low heat. Fry 1 oz almonds and 1 oz cashew nuts for 2 minutes until light gold, add 1 oz raisins for 20 seconds until they puff, then lift everything out with a slotted spoon.
3 minStep 3: Add 1 cinnamon stick, 5 green cardamom pods, 4 cloves and 1 bay leaf to the same ghee and fry for 30 seconds, until the cloves swell and the kitchen smells of cinnamon.
Step 4: Drain 10 ½ oz basmati rice well, add it to the pan and stir gently for 2 minutes over a medium heat, until the grains look glassy and are coated in ghee.
2 minStep 5: Pour in 2 cups water with 1 pinch salt, bring to the boil, then cover and cook over a low heat for 8 minutes, until most of the water has gone and the rice is about three-quarters cooked.
10 minStep 6: Scatter 4 oz sugar evenly over the rice, drizzle over the saffron milk and add the fried nuts and raisins. Don't stir. Adding the sugar at the start is the classic mistake: sugar stops rice softening, so the grains stay hard however long you cook them.
Step 7: Cover tightly and cook over the lowest heat for 12 minutes. The sugar melts into a light syrup that the rice absorbs, and the top grains turn orange.
12 minStep 8: Switch off and rest, covered, for 5 minutes. Fold gently with a fork, mixing the orange and white grains, and serve warm.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 68 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kashmiri modur pulav take?
- About 70 minutes in total: 35 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of basmati rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of warm milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
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