Ingredients

• 4 cups - basmati rice, soaked in water
• 1 tbsp each - garlic & ginger paste
• 2 cups - fish pieces (approximately 1 inch)
• 3 - dry red chillies, ground
• 1/4 tsp - turmeric powder
• 1 - lemon
• 2 - medium onions
• 15 - peppercorns
• 6 - cloves
• 2 -1-inch sticks cinnamon
• 8 white cardamoms, crushed
• 1.5 tsp - cumin seeds powder
• 2 - bay leaves
• salt to taste
• ghee and oil as required

How to Make Fish Pulav

• Wash the rice and put in a colander to drain the water.
• Clean the fish. Smear with a little salt and lemon juice. Keep aside for 1/2 an hour.
• Cut the onions into thin slices.
• Heat 3 tbsps of refined oil in a heavy-bottomed dekchi and season it with peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon sticks, crushed cardamoms and bay leaf.
• Add the ground chillies and the pastes of ginger and garlic.
• Stir and put in the fish. Fry till oil starts oozing out.
• Put in the rice, turmeric, cumin seeds powder and enough salt.
• Fry for some time so that the rice comes to a pale yellow colour.
• Pour 3 cups of hot water and squeeze in the juice of the lemon. Make the fire medium.
• Let it cook till the fish is tender and rice is cooked.
• Heat 1.5 tbsps of ghee in another dekchi.
• Put in the onion slices.
• Fry till they are browned and become crisp.
• Take out and keep aside.
• Pour the ghee remaining in the dekchi over the ready fish pulav and mix well.
• Transfer the pulav into a serving dish, garnish with the fried onion slices and serve hot.