Mishti Pulao

Mishti Pulao/Sweet Pulao

 Mishti Pulao is something that I have heard people refer to as Bengali Pulao aswell, but to be honest the name mishit pulao describes it the best its a sweet pulao. And because of that I would suggest you not to be too stingy while adding sugar. The first time I made it I was just as surprised with the amount of sugar I put in. It was equivalent to the amount I add to a kheer or halwa. So you get the gist it needs to be sweet and fragrant. Hence I put in star anise and cinnamon because they are not only rich in flavor but also the smell is great.

Now coming to the rice, Gobind Bhog Chaal. For those of us who aren't too knowledgeable about rice its a short grain rice that's rich in starch (I noticed while washing it) and its very fragrant and has a distinct flavor to it. In Bengali cuisine it is mostly used to make payesh and Khichuri (khichdi) for bhog/ offering for the Gods. So you get the point good enough for the Gods so it must be great. But you can always make mishit pulao with basmati rice tastes just as great only difference would be the flavor that you get from both rices and the texture. Gobind bhog would be a little sticky and basmati would be fluffy. And to be absolutely honest we don't always have Gobind Bhog around the house so Basmati just woks fine for me.

In my house we always make this along with Kosha mangsho its a great combination.

Ingredients

 2 cups gobind bhog rice

1 big piece cinnamon bark

a big thumb size ginger grated

green elaichi/cardamom 4

peppercorn 5-6

2 star anise

10-15 cashews

2 tablespoon raisins

1/2 tablespoon haldi/turmeric

7 tablespoon sugar

salt to taste

ghee 2 tablespoon

1 tablespoon oil

hot water 4 cups

Method

Wash the rice (I wash rice 3 times) and soak for about 10 minutes.

Boil water and keep ready.

Heat oil and ghee in a big enough pot to hold the rice once it cooks, now add all the whole garam masalas and let them fry for about 30 seconds then add the cashew nuts and let them fry till golden brown (mine sort of got a little out of hand and got fried a bit more than my liking) then add the raisins once they puff up add the ginger and turmeric and fry well then toss in the soaked rice. Fry for about a minute then pour in the hot water and reduce flame to sim and add salt and sugar. Check taste to see its to your liking. Now cover and let it cook on sim for about 12-15 minutes.

If you are using Gobind bhog the rice will be a little sticky as you can see in the picture here.

But basmati rice will not give you this texture.

 

Serve with Kosha Mangsho for an ideal combo.