Fried rice with vegetables Bengali style and mildly sweet

Bengali Sweet Fried Rice with Vegetables/Phulkopi aar Sobji diye Mishti Pulao

This dish is mildly sweet (you can increase the sweetness if you like ) with mild flavours of the vegetables,Gobindo Bhog rice and aromatic whole garam masala.


Preparation time - Soaking rice 30 mins and another 10 ins other preparation
Cooking time - Aprox 25 min

Ingredients:-

1. 1 cup Gobindobhog Rice (You can use Basmati rice but preference is Gobindobhog )

2. 2 inch Ginger grated or crushed in mortar and pestle

3. Whole spices ( 1/4th tspn black peppercorn,1/4th tspn shahjeera, 2 green cardamom,2 cloves,1 bay leaf,1 inch cinnamon )

4. 1 green chilly ( I used 1 red colour Indian chilly )

5. Mixed vegetables ( I used boiled vegetables - green peas, beans,carrot about half cup) and fried and partially cooked Cauliflower/phulkopi/gobi about half cup.

6. Water

7. Ghee 1 teaspoon(I used my Homemade ghee )

8. Vegetable oil 1 teaspoon( if using only Ghee/ clarified butter use 2 teaspoon ghee and omit the oil )

9. Raisins / kishmis about 10 in number

10. Water for cooking rice approx 2 cups

11. Sugar 2 tspn ( for a sweeter version add 1/2 teaspoon more )

12. Salt 1 and half teaspoon or as per your taste.

Preparation :-

1. Wash properly 3-4 times  and soak the Rice for about 30 mins and then drain out the water.

2. Cut the Cauliflower into small florets.

3. Boil or steam the mixed vegetables except the Cauliflower which you need to fry and partially cook while frying because with the rice the cauliflower will again be cooked.

4. Grate or crush the ginger with a mortar and pestle.

Lets cook :-

1. Take an utensil ( I use non stick )add 1 tspn ghee and 1 tspn oil and let it warm up and add the whole spices (you can also add the green chilly now but i prefer to add it after the rice is cooked ).Let the whole spices infuse its flavours.
NOTE - Cauliflower is already fried ( I shallow fried it in as much little oil I could- around 2 and half teaspoon )

2. Add the crushed/grated ginger and stir for less than a minute and add the raisins also.Then add the washed and drained rice and fry it.

3. When the rice is fried you will notice its giving out a "chit chit " sound and emits a beautiful fragrance and starts to stick to the bottom.Do this on a medium flame or the rice can burn.

4. Add about 2 cups water (some rice variety requires 1 and half cup water so it that case too much water can make your rice soggy) and also the half cooked Cauliflower along with 2 tspn sugar (don't add it before or fried rice can turn brown instead of white )and salt about 1 and half teaspoon or as per your taste.

5 Let it come to a full boil then quickly lower the flame and cover the utensil and let it simmer for at least 10 mins on a very low flame .I have a glass lid so its easier for me to keep an eye on it.If i find rice quickly absorbing the water I open the lid sprinkle very little water cover it and continue to cook on a low flame NOT high.

6. After 10 mins I fluff up the rice with a fork and add the boiled mixed veggies cover it and cook it for an additional 1-2 min on a very very low flame then switch off the flame and keep the utensil covered aside undisturbed for an additional 5 min before opening the lid and serving it.


Pictures :-