Rice with Paneer and Peas

I've been terribly busy of late meaning I currently have less time to experiment in the kitchen but today I worked a shorter shift and took advantage of the extra time to explore my newly acquired copy of Madhur Jaffrey's World of the East Vegetarian Cooking. As I am a huge fan of green peas and paneer cheese, I decided to make a slightly modified version of Ms. Jaffrey's Rice with Paneer and Peas. This easy to prepare dish would serve as a fine compliment to any Indian meal. I used pre-fried paneer cubes due to my present time constraints, but you can easily substitute fresh paneer. Simply cut the paneer into 1/2 - 1 inch cubes, fry it up ahead of time in oil and set aside until its time to add it to the rice.

Rice with Paneer and Peas

1 cup of basmati rice
1 cup of fried paneer cubes
3 tablespoons of ghee, or a mixture of butter and oil
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 large bay leaf
1 inch piece of cinnamon
3 whole black cardamom pods
2/3 cup of peas (fresh or defrosted frozen peas)
2 hot green chilies or jalapenos, cut into fine half rings
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

Wash the rice well and drain. Soak the rice in five cups of water and leave to saok for at least 30 minutes. Drain and leave to dry for another 10 - 20 minutes or so.

Heat the oil in a medium sized heavy pot over medium heat. When it is hot, add the bay leaf, cinnamon, and cardamom. Stir for a few seconds, and then add the drained rice, peas, salt, green chilies and cumin seeds. Stir and fry for 5 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil Cover, turn the heat to very low and cook for 15 minutes, or until the water is mostly evaporated. Take off the lid and quickly put in the paneer. Cover, and cook for another 2 - 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the rice sit, covered and undisturbed, for 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, cinnamon and cardamom and gently fluff with a fork. Serves 4.