Minty Coconut Rice

"This is Coconut pulav". "No, it isn't. This is coconut rice". "No, it is neither". "OK, let me call it Minty coconut rice since it has mint".
This is what was going on in my mind when I made this rice. This is neither coconut pulav nor the traditional South Indian Coconut rice. I had eaten similar rice in someone's place years ago. When I asked the lady how she made it, she said she had cooked the rice in coconut milk. I used that inspiration and came up with this. Remember that if you use all the liquid as coconut milk, rice won't cook properly. That is the reason for using part coconut milk and major part water.

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Ingredients:
Basmati rice - 2 cups
Green peas - 2 cups (I used frozen)
Red Onions - 3 medium thinly sliced
Oil - 4 TBSP
Bay leaf - 2
Cashews - 4 - 5 TBSP
Green Chillies - 10 sliced thin or to taste
Garam Masala - 2 tsp
Mint - Chopped and measured 1/2 cup
Coconut milk - 1 cup (I used canned)
Water - 3 cups
Salt - to taste

Method:
Soak rice in water. Heat oil in a pan. When hot, add bay leaves. When they get toasted, add chopped green chillies and cashews. Let the cashews get toasted. Add onions. Sprinkle some salt and let it cook. After about 3 minutes, add the green peas and mint. Stir and let the onions cook completely. Add Garam masala and stir. Drain the rice and add it to the pot. Stir. Add coconut milk followed by water. Bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and cover with a lid and let all the liquid get absorbed and rice cooked. Check for the salt and add if required.

After you switch off the heat, let it rest for 10 minutes and then fluff the grains with a fork. Serve with raita or plain yogurt.

Notes:
You can use any veggie of choice in place of peas or omit altogether.

Sending this to 'One Pot meals' event.

Enjoy. Pin It