Qabuli Pulao (my interpretation)

A friend of mine was always visiting an Afghani establishment purely for Qabuli pulao. She went so often, i had to do some research as to what it was. It sounded appealing, and different to what i normally cook so after going through a few recipes, i took a hodge podge of them, and experimented with this recipe. It turned out beautiful!

Now i can't say with certainty that it is reminicent of an authentic qabuli pulao, but it tasted magic!

Disclaimer: I used a lot of ghee in my recipe, and i think for a dish u might cook twice a year, if that, i think you can loosen the fat strings for a moment or two!

You will need:

1/2 cup oil
4 cloves
4 peppercorns
2 small cinnamon sticks
1/2 tsp garlic paste
1/2 tsp ginger paste
2 onions, finely sliced
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 kg meat/chicken (i used mutton chops)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
Salt to taste
3 tbsp ghee
2 tbsp grated carrots
2 tbsp julienned carrots
2 tbsp raisins
2 tbsp cashews
3 cups basmati rice
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

In a large saucepan, heat oil, then add cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon sticks. Once oil is infused add in your garlic and ginger paste and brown.

Once browned add your onions and brown them on a low - medium heat, covered for about 7-10 minutes. Once onions are soft, add in your tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes. Using a potato masher, mush this (you can use a hand blender if you wish).

To the onion and tomato mixture, add your chops, the turmeric, cumin, coriander and garam masala powders and salt to taste. Mix well, add 3 cups of water, cover and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, until chops are cooked.

While the chops are cooking, in a shallow frying pan, put in about 2 tbsp of ghee. Fry the grated carrots, julienned carrots, raisins and cashews seperately and place on a plate to use later.

In another saucepan, put the basmati rice on to cook in water with 1 tsp salt. The rice only needs to be half cooked, so an exact amount of water is not needed. To test how rice is half cooked is to take a grain of rice in hand and when broken with nail, it will break into 2-3 pieces. Drain rice and leave to one side.

Check if chops are cooked. Once cooked, add the rice, all of the grated carrots, half of the raisins, half the cashews and mix well. Take the shallow frying pan again, add the remaining ghee with 1 tbsp and caramelise. Once lightly caramelised (watch this carefully as sugar can burn very quickly), pour onto rice and mix very well again.

Cover the saucepan with foil, then put lid on and fold over foil on sides so steam cannot escape. Put on low heat and cook until rice fully cooked. Remove foil and garnish with remaining raisins, cashews and all the julienned carrots.

And that is it! It is a complex dish to cook, with lots of elements, but if you cook it on special occasions, i think a bit of effort goes a long way! This is a beautiful dish eaten alone as it has your meat and rice, but i will be attempting a few more exotic dishes to be eaten alongside this dish. Keep your eyes peeled (not literally!)

Enjoy!!

Yaz ♥