Masoor Pulao

A Bohra family recipe, this Masoor Pulao is a rich, aromatic one pot meal, where tender Chicken pieces cooked with Black Masoor dal and later layered with fragrant Basmati Rice and slow cooked further using the Dum Pukht method.

Ingredients

175g- Whole black masoor dal

1 kg- Chicken (Curry cut pieces)

200g- Curd

4- Onion medium-sized (chopped)

3- Potatoes medium-sized

5- Green chillies (halved)

2 tbsp-  Garlic paste

1 ½ tbsp-  Ginger paste

1½ tsp- Kashmiri mirch powder

½ tsp- Turmeric powder

½ tsp- Black pepper powder

Garam masala powder

¼ tsp- Nutmeg powder

2½ tbsp- Coriander powder

Juice of 1 lemon

120 ml/½ cup- Vegetable oil

80 ml / 6 tbsp- Milk

Ghee/Clarified butter (melted)

Salt to taste

½ tsp- Rose water

½ tsp- Keora water

For tempering

2- Dry red chillies (halved)

4- Green cardamoms (lightly crushed)

3- Cinnamon stick 1″ pieces

4- Cloves

3- Bay leaf

For Rice

700g- Basmati Rice

8- Green cardamoms (lightly crushed)

1- Star anise

6- Cinnamon stick 1″ pieces

8- Cloves

1½ tbsp- Salt

Instructions

Cut each potato horizontally into halves, boil them and keep aside.

Wash Black Masoor Dal 2-3 times, then soak the dal with 2 cups of water for 2-3 hours. Drain the water. 

Now in a deep frying pan/kadai add dal and ½ tsp of salt. Add water to this, the water level should be ½” up to the dal. Cook dal over medium heat for 15 minutes or until the lentils are just cooked but completely retain their shapes. At this stage all the water would be absorbed by the dal, there would be no extra water in the kadai except the cooked dal. Keep it aside.

Soaked and Boiled Masoor Dal

Marinate the chicken with ginger-garlic paste and black pepper powder. Keep aside for 1 hour.

Heat oil in a deep frying pan/kadai. Fry the boiled potatoes with ½ tsp of salt and a pinch of turmeric powder until golden. Remove and keep aside.

Now in the same oil, temper with the ingredients mentioned ‘for tempering’.

Add onion, sauté over medium heat until light brown in colour.

Add marinated chicken, green chillies, coriander powder, kashmiri mirch powder and turmeric powder. Mix, cover and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, keep stirring in-between.

Next, add ½ cup of hot water and salt. Mix well, cover and cook until the chicken is cooked thoroughly.

Add ¾ tsp of garam masala powder and nutmeg powder, mix well.

Next to add yogurt, lemon juice and boiled masoor dal. Mix well and cook uncovered on low heat for 2-3 minutes. Check salt and remove from the heat.

Keep the rice ready while the chicken is cooking. Add washed rice, salt, whole spices along with plenty of water in a deep bottomed pan. Cook the rice uncovered, until done. Rice should not be overcooked.

Drain the rice and keep aside uncovered. 

Assembling Masoor Pulao

To make the pulao, grease a deep bottomed pan with ghee. Add a layer of rice at the bottom of the pan by using 60% of rice.

Next, add the potatoes on top of the rice, giving some gap in-between the potato pieces. 

Now add a layer of Chicken pieces along with the gravy. Add gravy carefully, in small quantities at a time. You can keep the rest of the gravy to serve it along with the pulao later.

Add the rest of the rice on top of the chicken layer. Spread the rice evenly, sprinkle milk, keora water and rose water on top.

Add 4 tbsp of ghee around the edges of the pan, and add 4 tbsp of ghee on the top. Sprinkle garam masala powder on top of the rice.

Seal the top of the pan with aluminium foil. Heat an iron tawa on medium heat for 10 minutes, lower the heat. Now place the pulao pot on top of the tawa and keep it on dum for 25 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Serve hot Masoor Pulao with raita, green chutney and onion slices.