Every time I think of this dish it reminds me of weddings. The reason for this is because it is always served at every wedding and therefore is a special dish. I went to Pakistan over 20 years ago and stayed there for 3 months. When I came back I was making this dish and it is famous in Peshawar, Pakistan only. You can’t find this dish somewhere else yet there are imitations. India has chana pulau but it is not no where near as close as this one.
When I made this the first time, oh my God, my husband and the rest of my family could not believe I pulled this off without watching someone do this. My family thinks I am some type of jinn and asked where did I learn how to make this. They also said only pros in Peshawar, Pakistan make this. This type of pulau isn’t made in the homes ever. It is served at weddings and therefore is called shadi, it means marriage or wedding in Urdu language. Therefore it is served at weddings only. I came back and made this dish the aloo bukhara chutney you seen in an earlier post, the kachaloo pera who’s link I posted with my recipes on other sites before I started blogging.
I blog because I want to share my cooking knowledge with the world. There are lots of things I have learned from other bloggers about their cooking styles and the recipes of these people I follow. I am glad for internet because if used in a good way instead of a bad way is a great way to exchange ideas and info as well as a valuable tool for in my case collecting recipes.
These ladies are nice enough to share their recipes and I am sharing mine. I even said before I started to use this site that I have something to share with the world. I want to expose The very much overlooked regional cuisine of Peshawar, Pakistan and not just some doctored up version. Now I am going to show you how to make this wonderful pulau.
Beforehand I had taken down a Cornish hen to cook. Chicken, beef preferably oxtails, any lamb or goat meat including lamb necks as long as it is on the bone. I soaked some chickpeas for 12 hours to overnight. They are known as kabuli chana in Urdu, either white or black is ok.
I added 3 tbs olive oil to the pressure cooker followed by 3 bay leaves, 3 cloves and 1 pinch of cumin seeds. I cut one small red onion in to half moon slices. However yellow, brown, white, Vidalia onions can be used too. Also canola or corn oil can be used if olive oil is out of your price range. In my mortar and pestle I ground 2 green cardamoms, 1 black cardamom, they are called elachi in Urdu and 1 pinch of black peppercorns. A spice grinder can be used too for people who have one. I fried the onions until golden and added all of the masalas which means spices, 1 pinch each of tumeric, red chili powder, Garam Masala, cinnamon and the spices I ground up in my mortar and pestle and gave it a mix. I added a bullion cube. Any one can be used so I decided on using chicken. You can also add a couple of drops of maggi or knorr aroma. I chopped and added one tomato followed by 1/4 of a cup of plain yogurt. I whipped the yogurt until smooth and added 1 tbs of water to thin it out and stirred some more while I am waiting for my chopped tomato in my pressure cooker to turn to mush. I added the yogurt and stirred then I added the chickpeas, Cornish hen, 1 handful of raisins, it can be either golden also known as sultanas, dark raisins or both golden and dark mix. They both taste the same and 4 aloo bukharas. These are small tiny plums. Without these it will not be called a proper Peshawari pulau. I crushed some garlic and ginger and added it too and stirred until the rawness went away then I closed the pressure cooker and waited for that silver safety button to pop up then I set the timer on my microwave for 15 minutes. Yes you can use the timer on your microwave for cooking time. I do it all of the time. When the time is up I turn off the burner and let the pressure release its pressure. Just be patient safety must come first.
After the pressure went down the safety button went down, at least on mine it does, I opened the pressure cooker and checked the Cornish hen and the chickpea to see if it is nice and soft and it was very nicely cooked and delicious. With that done I went and I took out a big caldero. This is a short pot that is designed for cooking rice and makes the best rice dishes ever. I put 3 cups of basmati rice in this pot and washed it in cold running water until the rice was clear. I added the chickpeas with the Cornish hen along with the liquid it has been cooked in. This has all of the taste and flavor with the bullion.
With the bullion used you do not need anymore salt. It is plenty salty on its own.
I covered the rice along with chickpeas and meat with aluminum foil over the pot and added the lid. As I said before this is what is called in India and Pakistan is putting it on the dum. I don’t know what is called everywhere else and even at the age of 52 I still enjoy learning. I let the rice cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Again setting timer on microwave and I was still keeping my eye on the rice.
After 15 minutes is up I open and check it to see how done the rice is and is dry I again put foil and lid back over the pot and turned off the burner off and let it sit for another 15 minutes so the rice can catch all of the steam. By this time the rice is yummy tasty and ahhhhh so divine. As you see in the picture is the aloo bukhara chutney which is served with this dish. Eating this followed by kawa which is the green tea is shear enjoyment
MMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
Please try this recipe today you won’t be disappointed, I swear.
P.S. For instant pot and the like add the oil to the clean inner lining in the cooker. Turn on sauté function and fry the onion until brown then add garlic, tomato and the masala following the same extract directions as stovetop method.
Add water place a trivet then place your protein you are using and press cancel to turn off sauté function. Press pressure cook for 25 minutes after placing the pressure cook lid on the multi functional cooker.
Press the quick release button for pressure to escape. After pressure is released check the meat to see if it is done then remove the pressure cooker lid and attach the air fry lid and select either broil or roast for 15 minutes to make the skin on the chicken or cornish hen if using making the skin crispy and for others it will become roasted.
Select cancel and set the air fryer lid on the protective pad. Remove the trivet with the meat and place in an empty pot .
Place chickpeas, raisons and aloo bukhara and add some more water and make sure you don’t discard the stock. All of the flavors are there. place again the pressure cooker lid on the instant pot and the like and select pressure cook for 30 minutes.
Press quick release button once again to let pressure escape. Place the meat back in the instant pot carefully after checking on the beans. If still a litte hard make sure your liquid levels are good and add 2 cups of water and again select pressure cook for 15 minutes.
Press quick release button and add the rice and select steam for 15 minutes. Make sure rice is rinsed first. Place a regular tempered glass lid and let cook for 15 minutes. The cooker will count it down for you.
Aloo Bukhara Chutney Kawa (Green tea)
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