Pulao Or Biryani Masala/Microwave Cooking

Pulao Or biryani masala. An aromatic spice blend for biryani or pulao. Not only biryani or pulao but you can also use this fragrant spice powder in Kabab or in curries to give a royal touch and make the dish aromatic. A perfect shahi or royal spice mixture to make any dish special. Sharing both the microwave and stove top recipes.

You may like three more different flavoured homemade spice powder on this blog.

1. Bengali garam masala

2. Panch phoran bhaja or dry roasted Bengali five spice powder

3. Roasted mixed spice powder or bhaja moshla

Ingredients used to make this aromatic spice mixture.

Green cardamom or chhoti ilaichi – Green cardamom used for it’s aroma. Green cardamom often used to make curries, pulao, biryani, khichdi or many sweet dishes to make the dish aromatic.

Black cardamom or badi elaichi – Black cardamom used to make savoury dishes like pulao, biryani, non veg dishes, curries and in garam masala. It will also give a lovely flavour.

Cinnamon or darchini – Cinnamon has numerous health benefits and also a very aromatic spice. Its often used in tea with cardamom, in garam masala and even we use it in cakes and cookies for it’s aroma and health benefits.

Cloves or laung – Nutritious cloves are used for flavour and it also provide many health benefits.

Mace or javitri – Mace is also used for flavour. It has delicate aroma and some medicinal properties with many health benefits.

Kababchini or cubeb – Kababchini looks like tailed pepper. This ancient spice is used not just in Indian cuisine but also in Asian and Spanish dishes. It is mostly used for flavouring curries owing to its fragrance.Kabab chini is popularly known as Allspice in English because it smells like a combination of spices including cloves, black pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg.   Source

Nutmeg or jaiphal – Nutmeg is used for it’s flavour in many sweet, savoury and baked dishes. It has a warm, slightly nutty flavor and is often used in desserts and curries, as well as drinks like mulled wine and chai tea. Although it’s more commonly used for its flavor than its health benefits, nutmeg contains an impressive array of powerful compounds that may help prevent disease and promote your overall health. Source

Star anise or chakr phool – In traditional Chinese and folk medicine practices, star anise is steeped in water to make a tea used to treat respiratory infections, nausea, constipation and other digestive issues. Star anise also makes a great addition to sweet dishes and desserts, such as baked fruit, pies, quick bread and muffins. Its powerful bioactive compounds may help treat several fungal, bacterial and viral infections. Source

Bay leaf or tej patta – Bay leaf is very common herb used in cooking. Usually its used for tempering and also in Herbal tea. Bay leaf is often used in recipes to provide a savory boost of flavor in soups and stews. It has also been used throughout history for its potential health benefits. Source

Caraway seeds or shah/shahi jeera – Caraway is a unique spice long used in cooking and herbal medicine. Its slightly bitter, earthy flavor is reminiscent of licorice, coriander, anise, and fennel. It can be used whole or ground in both sweet and savory dishes, such as breads, pastries, curries, and stews.  Caraway is a multifaceted spice with numerous culinary and medicinal applications. Although widely considered a seed, it comes from the fruit of the caraway plant and boasts several minerals and plant compounds. In fact, it may aid weight loss, relieve inflammation, and promote digestive health. Source

You can make this spice powder and store in airtight container for later use. Keep the container in cool dry space. You have to dry roast the spices. Dry roast till the spices becomes fragrant. Don’t make the spices brown. Dry roasting will make your spices crisp for easy grinding. I have microwave the spices for two minutes. You can also roast the spices on stove top. Roast the spices in a pan on medium heat till spices becomes fragrant. You will get a nice aroma. Transfer the spices immediately on a plate. Let it cool down before grinding.

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Recipe video for this aromatic spice mixture

Recipe

Green cardamom or chhoti ilaichi – 7

Black cardamom or badi elaichi – 2

Cinnamon or darchini – 1 stick

Cloves or laung – 6

Mace or javitri – 1

Kababchini or cubeb – 1/2 teaspoon

Nutmeg or jaiphal – 1 small

Star anise or chakr phool – 1

Bay leaf or tej patta – 2

Caraway seeds or shah jeera – 1 tablespoon

Method

1. Place all the spices in a microwavable glass bowl. Break the cinnamon and bay leaves in 2-3 pieces.

2. Microwave on high power for two minutes. After one minute open the microwave door and stir the spices once.

3. Close the door again let it cook for one minute again. After two minutes remove the bowl from microwave and let it cool down. Spices will become fragrant and crisp.

For stove top

4. Heat a pan and add all the whole spices. Dry roast on medium heat. Keep stirring. Dry roast till spices becomes fragrant. You will get a nice aroma. Don’t make the spices brown. We need to make the spices crisp only. Transfer the spices on a plate immediately.

5. Grind the spices into fine powder when cool.

6. Store the ground spices in an airtight container. You can store this spice powder in refrigerator for longer time. Use it in biryani, pulao, curries or other dishes.

Blogger group

This post is going to be featured on Facebook gourmet group Shhhhh Cooking Secretly Challenge. In this group every month one of the members decide the theme. And members paired to give two secret ingredients each other. Best part is we paired every month with different bloggers so that we can interact each other. And after preparing the dish members share a picture of the dish and other members have to guess the ingredients.

This month theme Homemade Spice Mixture is suggested by Jayashree Trao who blog at Evergreendishes. Jayashree recently shared lipsmackingly delicious Aam ki launji. Its mango season so bookmarked the recipe to try.

This month my partner is one of my very good friend Preethi Prasad. We know each other from the initial days of blogging. I have to try her Mix veg crispy party snacks. Preethi gave me star anise and cardamom as secret ingredients and I made this fragrant spice blend with these ingredients. I gave turmeric and fenugreek to Preethi. Preethi made this flavorful spice mixture with these ingredients.

If you tried my recipe, you can share your food pictures with me in the social network sites by using hashtag, #batterupwithsujata I would love to see your creations.

I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and suggestions in comment.

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