Baby Aloo / Potato Pulao

I vary the recipe whenever I make pulao. I do it differently most often. One time may be grind more pudina, next time cilantro, or with coconut milk or made with both mint and cilantro ground together with a little coconut or just plain. It is just according to what I think that minute when I make. I do accept some small changes made in the recipe, make it somewhat different each time and hence there is some variety added to the regular ones. 

I usually ask my son to try the potatoes. Unbelievable but true, he doesn't like potatoes. Many of you may be surprised! Almost all the kids like potatoes, especially fries and tater tots are most loved. I have seen him, dunk the fries in ketchup and just eat the ketchup alone without the fries being bitten. Once it becomes a little soggy, he will take a new fries. Accidentally, while licking the ketchup a little teeny tiny piece of potato enters his system. 

Three four weeks back I made baby potato pulao with a combination of cilantro and mint. When I told him these are tiny baby potatoes, it didn't really make him accept to eat that. But for the past week, he has been asking me to make baby potato curry, baby potato pulao........we were surprised with the changes all of a sudden...him saying potatoes are his favorite.......that's what is new here. Well, I decided to make pulao for a quick fix lunch and wanted to check whether he would ever touch it. He requested for lots of potatoes, and so I made with the following recipe (surely, almost every bite would have a baby potato in it). It was a super hit! He loved it so much, and said he will only eat this everyday. That's great. The other two potato lovers in my home enjoyed it too. It was tasty and simple. Weekday or weekend, this would be a certain hit with everyone. But for now, I guess I will make this pulao often so that he will enjoy his new favorite vegetable, potato.

Ingredients:

Basmati rice - 11/2 cups

Baby potatoes - 40 nos., cooked and peeled

Peas - 1 cup, fresh or frozen

Onion - 1/2 cup, thinly sliced

Ginger - garlic paste - 2 tsp

Green chillies - 4 slit lengthwise

Mint - 2 tsp, chopped

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Salt - 1 tsp

Cilantro - 2 tsp, for garnish

Water - 2 and 3/4 cups

Seasoning:

Cardamom - 1

Cloves - 2

Bay leaf - 1

Cinnamon - 2 one inch sticks

Oil / Ghee - 2 tsp

Method:

Wash and soak the rice.

Heat oil in a pan and do the seasoning. Then add onions, green chillies followed by ginger garlic paste and cook till the raw smell goes away and the onions are translucent. Drain the water from rice, add it to the pan, fry for 2 mins. Then add the potatoes, peas, mint and salt. Mix thoroughly, add the water. Adjust for salt, cover and reduce the flame. Let it cook covered for 12 mins. Then switch off the flame, keep it covered and let the pulao continue to cook in the steam which is built-in and blend the flavors well for another 10 min. Garnish with cilantro. Voila! Simple and tasty pulao is ready. We had ours with mirchi ka salan and onion raita. Now I can ask, who wouldn't say no to potatoes especially baby aloos.