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Light and refreshing, khumb pulav is a great one-dish meal, writes Pushpesh Pant We were once treated to an exquisite gucchi pulav at the wedding of Shiv Jatia’s daughter — the food lover who owns the Hyatt Regency in Delhi — that took our breath away. Aromatic and elegant, simple yet subtle, it left nothing to be desired. Chef Iliyas had risen to the occasion. Much water has flown down the Yamuna since and we are sad to confess that Iliyas Miyan has since not always replicated the magic but the taste lingers on the palate. Problem is that gucchi or morels are expensive stuff, not always readily available everywhere. It was Plato who had wisely pointed out that best is the enemy of good and this is what set us thinking. Can one enjoy a mushrooms and rice combo — substituting gucchi with the more familiar stuff? We tried repeatedly but were not satisfied with the results. Not only the aroma but also the flavour seemed to elude us. The problem was, as a friend pointed out, that the mushrooms were overpowered by tomatoes, garlic, turmeric, dhania, garam masala and what not. He suggested that we give button mushrooms the
yakhni pulav treatment. This recipe owes its existence to that helpful hint. Obviously, one can’t milch mushrooms to yield stock like mutton or chicken — some adjustments have to be made. We strongly recommend eschewing tomatoes that have much too dominating a presence — both in terms of colour and taste — but suggest that retain the good old companions like ginger and garlic in paste avatar. Otherwise, most diners find the taste too bland. Haldi, dhania and jeera can be easily dispensed with but aromatic garam masala certainly enriches the flavour. It is a light, elegant and refreshing dish that can be paired with a little boorani — mint-garlic-green chilli flavoured dahi — make a one-dish meal. If you love mushrooms like we do, you can increase the quantity of mushrooms used as per inclination. Khumb Pulav
Mushrooms (washed well and sliced) 200 gm Method Boil water in a pan with a little salt and the bay leaf. Cook the rice in this till 9/10th done. Remove, keep aside covered. Heat butter in a pan and put in the cloves, cinnamon and cardamom and when these change colour add sliced onions stir-fry and when these become translucent add the garlic ginger pastes stir-fry for about thirty seconds then put in the mushrooms. Sprinkle the powdered masala along with the salt. Cook uncovered till most of the moisture evaporates but not all. Arrange rice and mushrooms on alternate layers ending with mushrooms on top. Cover and ‘finish’ for five minutes on dum — on top of a pre-heated tawa on simmer.
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Ingredients
