Matar Pulao

Ingredients:

Frozen green peas             - 1 cup, thawed
Basmati rice                      - 2 cups, rinsed and drained
Vegetable oil                     - 2 tablespoons
Cloves                                - 4 whole
Black cardamom                - 1 Whole
Black peppercorns             - 6 whole
Cinnamon sticks                - 1
Bay Leaf                            - 1
Water                                 - 2 tbspoons + 4 Cups
Salt                                    - to taste


Method:

Heat the oil in a deep heavy skillet / saucepan over low heat. Add the cloves, cardamom seeds, peppercorns, cinnamon stick and bay leaf.
Cook for a few minutes to bring out the aroma of the spices.
Add the green peas and 2 tbspoon of water to the pan, cover and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the remaining 4 cups of water and rice to the pan. Season with a little salt.
Bring to a boil, then cover, and cook for about 15 minutes or until the rice is tender and the water has been absorbed.
Mix it gently so that you do not break the rice grains.
Matar Pulao is ready to serve with curries and daal. I served Matar Pulao with Shahi Paneer and Raita.

Note: If your kids do not like to crunch the whole spices in between eating, take these whole spices out of the oil once the aroma starts to get stronger.
If you are cooking in Pressure cooker do not use 4 cups of water , use only 2 1/2 cup of water as when we cook rice in pressure cooker  it doesn't need  much water. Switch off the flame after 1 whistle.