Cookbook Club – Aarti Paarti

In October, we used Aarti Sequeira’s cookbook Aarti Paarti. In it, she simplifies traditional Indian recipes and techniques to make Indian flavors accessible for the US market. To find out how many of her Indian dishes translated, go to my Cookbook Club site. For now – my dish!

What Sequeira calls Sunny-Side Pulao is a black-eyed pea pilaf, essentially her take on beans and rice. I had purchased a large sack of basmati rice for a recipe awhile back, and have been looking for ways to use it, so making this dish seemed like a good opportunity.

I browned cumin seeds in canola oil and butter.

I added onion, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and salt, and cooked until the onions softened.

I added a minced Fresno chile and sauteed for 30 more seconds.

I gently stirred in the rice, cooking for a few minutes until the grains turned translucent and no longer clumped together.

I added black-eyed peas, hot water, and salt. I brought to a boil, reduced the heat to simmer, then cooked partially covered for 15 minutes.

Then I removed the rice from the heat, covered, and let steam another 5 minutes.

I garnished with cilantro and was ready to go! I will devour just plain old rice, but it’s nice to spruce it up too. This was a tasty rice, one I plan to make again.