Meetha Bhaat (Zarda Pulao)

Hello Friends,

      Today I am going to share with you a cuisin which you will love to eat once you made " Meetha Bhaat" also known as "Zarda Pulao" is a sweet dish,said to be Persian origin. The 'Zarda' word comes from the Persian word ' Zard' which means 'Yellow', referring to the color it obtains.

      The Zarda is popularized in North India( Himachal Pradesh) by Mughals. The "Ain-I -Akbari" of " Abul Fazal" explains the recipe of 'Zard Birinj'. Hope you like the story behind the famous cuisin.

Ingredients:-

1. Basmati Rice/Gobindo bhog rice- 1 cup.

2. Ghee(clarified butter)- 4tbsp.

3. Sugar- 1/4cup.

4. Orange food color-1/2 tsp.

5. Milk-3/4cup.

6. Almonds- 15 pieces.

7. Cashew nuts-15 pieces.

8. Golden Raisins- 1/4 cup.

9. Dry coconut- 4tsp.

10. Cinnamon stick-1(1-inch).

11. Cloves-4 pieces.

12. Green cardamom-4 pods.

13. Fennel seeds- 1 tbsp.

14. Saffron-1/4tsp.

Preparation Method:-

Step 1- Rinse the rice and soak for 10 minutes.

Step 2- Soak saffron strands, orange food color to Luke warm milk,set aside.

Step 3- Boil 3 cups of water with cloves (2pieces), cinnamon stick(1/2 inch), green Cardamom pods(2 pieces). Now add soaked rice cook until 80% done,drain and set aside.

Step 4- Heat ghee in a vessel, now add fennel seeds stir fry the seeds on low flame until fragrant. Now add remaining cinnamon stick,cloves,green cardamom pods and fry for few seconds.

Step 5- Now add almonds, cashew nuts,dry coconut,golden raisins and fry for a minute on low flame.(taking care not to burn them).

Step 6- Next add sugar and allow to little caramelized, shouldn't change its color to brown. Add 1/4 cup of water and let sugar syrup to boil.

Step 7- Now add cooked rice into it and add saffron & food color milk, slowly mix them, else rice will be broken.

Step 8- Cover the vessel and cook for 10 minutes on low flame or until all the moisture evaporates. Turn off flame.

Step 9- Now it's ready to serve.

image credit: source1, source2