The rice: lightly fry some cinnamon stick, green cardamom pods, cumin seeds, and cloves in olive oil. Add rinsed rice and stir it fast so it doesn’t stick. Add the water, some tumeric and salt. Mix it all up and put the lid on. Turn to high or medium high, bring to a boil, reduce to low, check it in 10 minutes to see if it’s done.
Once done the cardamom pods, cinnamon stick and cloves should have floated to the top. Fish those out and discard them.
The veg: Julienne some carrots, dice some onions, pull out some frozen peas, grab some shelled sunflower seeds. Pull out your wok and add some oil. On high heat add the carrots, onions and some salt. Stir fry until the onions start to turn translucent. Add maybe half a cup of water the peas and put a lid on it. Once the water has mostly evaporated add some garam masala and the sunflower seeds. Stir fry until done.
Mix the two together.
Accidentally vegan. Cost per person: $1.12
Love it. I do a very similar dish, but I’ll add a teaspoon of tomato paste in the rice water and I crush the cardamon pods and blow the papery shell away so the cardamon stays in. I get more flavour that way.
Also no garlic?
If it were up to me I would have added garlic but there are situations where I know my wife is going to be sensitive to garlic so I leave it out or greatly reduce it for her.