Vrat ka Pulao: Navratri Special Recipe

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During the Navratri vrat or fast only certain types of ingredients are allowed to be consumed. For example you can cook your food in ghee and season it with rock salt only. Similarly only a few types of flour such as the Kuttu (buckwheat) or Singhara (water chestnut) flours can only be used to prepare the chapatis. During the fast you are not allowed to eat rice. However there is a special type of rice which can be consumed during the fast.

Sama ke chawal, or samvat rice or Mordhna are the Hindi names for Barnyard millet. It can be eaten during fasting and is a good source of carbohydrates and proteins. I make a lot of fasting recipes with this grain and today have made a pulao using this grain. Here is the recipe.

Serves: 3-4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• Sama ke chawal/ Barnyard millet - 1 cup
• Ghee/ Clarified butter - 2 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Clove - 2
• Black cardamom - 1
• Cashew nuts - 4-5 ( split into half )
• Almonds - 4-5 ( split into half )
• Raisins - 8-10
• Green chili - 1 ( split into half )
• Water - 2 cups
• Sendha namak - to taste
• Green peas - 1/4 cup
• Lemon juice - 2 tsp
• Coriander - 1 tbsp ( chopped )

Procedure

1. Wash and soak the millet for 2-3 hours.
2. Heat ghee in a pan. When the ghee is hot, add cumin seeds, cloves and black cardamom.
3. Add cashew nuts, almonds and raisins and fry for 15-20 seconds.
4. Add green chili and water.
5. Drain the rice and add it in the pan.
6. Add salt and peas.
7. Cover and cook on low heat till done.
8. Add lemon juice and coriander. Fluff with a fork. ( It will not be as fluffy as normal rice )

Serve hot with falahari coriander chutney, falahari coconut chutney or curd.