Nutty pulao

Nutty pulao..This is my own innovation/discovery/experiment..whatever you call it.Honestly i did not know what to call this dish and hence this post was in the draft for sometime.Was wondering whether it  should it be a nut pulao,a nut fried rice or nutty tawa pulao or something else..??Finally decided that i will call it nutty pulao.Any other suggestions???(this reminds me of a malayalam film called nutty professor, a movie which i cud not tolerate for more than 5 minutes).This  nutty pulao is something which is a result of something suddenly clicking in my brain the moment i entered the kitchen. I had  lost of nuts in stock and i did not have the time for elaborate cooking.Little Shanaya has started crawling around and so i cannot leave her unattended..Moreover she sleeps just for about half an hour at a stretch.So it is dishes like these which i end up making before Navin comes from office for lunch.

This is a very simple rice recipe which can be made easily with whatever nuts , raisins ,etc you have at home.This is very close to the ghee rice or neychoru made in kerala but i did away with teh onions,ginger , garlic, and some spices..This pulao is  tasty , crunchy and easy and quick..( i love anything easy and quick these days).With Diwali around the corner, there is definitely going to be an inflow of nuts, so put those nuts to good use!!What i love about this pulao is the crunchiness and the sweetness that come from the dates...

Ingredients i used

1 cup basmati
1 bay leaf torn
1 green cardamom
10 almond
10 cashewnuts
5 walnuts
5-6 dates,seed removed and chopped
3 dried apricots(optional)
 a handful of peanuts..
1/4th tspn garam masala
2 cloves,crushed
3 tbspn ghee

How i made it?

Boil  the rice with a spoon of ghee,bay leaf and the green cardamom pod,slit open.I boiled the rice with excess water and when done drained the rice to a colander.Fluff the rice with a fork.
Add rest of the ghee to a pan and add i all the nuts ,dates and apricot.
Stir well so that the nuts are slightly toasted.
Then add in the rice and mix well.Add in the crushed cloves.Sprinkle the garam masala and take off the stove.
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve.

Serving suggestion: This rice will go well with a spicy non-vegetarian curry.But on this particluar day i served with onion tomato raita.(Navin says he doesn't even need the raita,he can eat it plain)