As part of their celebrations for National Curry Week, Cobra Beer, curry's boozy best friend, has created a series of cook-along videos, one of which stars your very own BitchBuzz culinary scribe, ME!
A few weeks ago, in what felt like a bit of a top secret curry mission, I was delivered the ingredients and recipe, for chef, Aktar Islam's Nawabi Pilau, a deliciously spiced riced dish filled with juicy raisins and toasted cashews. Because the raisins create quite a sweet rice, it is really delicious with a rich lamb dish, or a nice spicy dish. A lamb jalfrezi would be the perfect accompaniment.
It is actually quite substantial on it's own though, and makes a rather nice lunch or post-pub snack.
So, for this week only, you can not only read the recipe, but watch it in action too!
Serve with Cobra Beer, of course!
Ingredients (serves 4)
250g basmati rice
120g cashew nuts
6 shallots, sliced
1 tbsp cold-pressed rapeseed oil
120g raisins
500ml water
1/2 tsp sugar
4 cloves
2 cardamom pods
1 stick of cinnamon
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp saffron
1/2 tsp salt
Chopped coriander
Directions
Wash and drain the rice 2-3 times and leave to soak in water for 10-15 minutes. Boil the 500ml of water and add the saffron. In another pot, heat the oil to a high temperature. Add the nuts, cloves, cardamoms, cumin seeds and cinnamon and fry for a couple of minutes.
Add the shallots and fry for 2 minutes, till they are translucent. Add the raisins, salt, sugar and turmeric and stir for a few seconds. Add the rice and stir well until all the grains have been coated with the spices.Add the boiling water and saffron.
Partially cover the pan and reduce heat to a slow simmer, allowing the rice to cook gently in its spices. This should take about 12-15 minutes. When the water has been absorbed, test the rice by tasting it to see if it is done. If necessary, leave for another minute or two, with the lid on.Stir in the chopped coriander and serve with an ice cold Cobra.
Image via Chachi's Kitchen