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Maush palaw
Mung bean and dried fruit rice
ماش پلو (maush palaw): Herat-style rice steamed with mung beans and topped with dried apricots and raisins
Maush palaw belongs to the frugal, generous side of Herati cooking, a rice that costs little but is brought to the table with the same care as a festive palaw. Long grains of rice are steamed with whole green mung beans in a broth coloured by deeply browned onion, then crowned with apricots and raisins softened in oil, so each spoonful is savoury and earthy with a sweet, chewy surprise. Some cooks bury pieces of lamb in the rice, but meatless versions are everyday food across western Afghanistan and Kabul, eaten with yogurt, a salad of tomato and onion and a spoonful of chutney. Overcooking the mung beans before they meet the rice is the trap here; stop when they are tender but still whole, or they turn to paste in the steaming. Chef's tip: let the onions go a really deep mahogany brown, because that colour is what tints the rice.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the beans and broth
- 5 ½ oz whole mung beansrinsed
- 3 ¼ cups water
- 5 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 onionsthinly sliced
- 1 ¾ cups water
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp salt
For the rice
- 14 oz basmati ricerinsed and soaked 30 minutes
- 10 ½ cups water
- 1 tbsp salt
For the topping
- 3 ½ oz dried apricotshalved
- 2 ⅛ oz raisins
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 3 tbsp hot water
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Simmer 5 ½ oz whole mung beans in 3 ¼ cups water over a medium heat for 18–20 minutes until tender but still whole, then drain.
20 minStep 2: Meanwhile heat 5 tbsp sunflower oil in a heavy casserole over a medium heat and fry 2 onions for 12–15 minutes, stirring more often as they darken, until they are deep reddish-brown and crisp at the edges.
15 minStep 3: Pour in 1 ¾ cups water carefully (it will spit), add 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp ground cardamom, cinnamon and black pepper mixed and 2 tsp salt and simmer for 5 minutes until the broth is dark and fragrant.
5 minStep 4: Bring 10 ½ cups water and 1 tbsp salt to a rolling boil in a large pan, add the drained 14 oz basmati rice and boil for 5–6 minutes until the grains are soft outside but still firm in the centre. Drain well.
6 minStep 5: Stir the mung beans into the onion broth, then tip the rice on top and fold everything together gently with a flat spoon until the rice is evenly tinted. Heap it into a cone and poke 4–5 holes down to the bottom with the handle of a spoon.
Step 6: Fry 3 ½ oz dried apricots and 2 ⅛ oz raisins in 1 tbsp sunflower oil in a small pan over a medium heat for 2 minutes until the raisins puff, then add 3 tbsp hot water and let them soften off the heat.
2 minStep 7: Scatter the fruit over the rice, wrap the lid in a clean tea towel, cover tightly and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes until you hear steam, then on the lowest heat for 25 minutes until the grains are fully tender and separate.
30 minStep 8: Spoon onto a large platter, keeping the apricots and raisins on top, and serve with yogurt and chutney.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 470 kcal
- Protein
- 13 g
- Carbs
- 82 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does maush palaw take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 55 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 vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- 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 onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of cumin seeds?
- Ground cumin, three quarters of the amount (add it with the other ground spices, not to hot oil first).
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