Green Peas Pulao

This month my husband and I became extremely health conscious. We realized our lifestyles had become too stressful and unhealthy and we could feel it in our bodies. So we made a dramatic change to our lifestyles. We have started waking up early and getting to work early. We have incorporated an hour of regular exercise at the gym. Most importantly I have focused on the meal time. We started eating at the table(no more tv watching while eating) and eating healthier. The first thing we both saw was that we were eating too much meat. We actually felt a little sick of it. So for the past many days I have moved to vegetarian diet.No, i'm not becoming a vegetarian, I'm just going to eat meat occasionally preferring seafood and avoiding red meat.I want to enjoy meat when I eat it. You know that occasional perfect steak is unbeatable!! Anyways, so for the next few days I'm going to post mostly vegetarian recipes. I promise you these recipes are delicious and healthy. I begin the series with a recipe for green peas pulao (pulao is a flavored rice dish made in many different ways in India). It is known in my home as "GPP". Served with a mild vegetble curry it makes a perfect meal.

Ingredients

1 cup green peas
1 cup rice, washed and soaked in water for atleast 1/2 an hour
One large onion sliced
a large bunch of cilantro leaves
1 green chilly
1 pod garlic
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 stick cinnamon
2 cloves
2 cups vegetable broth
oil 1 tblsp
salt

Method

Grind together cilantro, the green chilly and the garlic into a smooth paste using water as needed.Keep aside. Heat oil. Add cinnamon, cloves and cumin seeds. Add sliced onions and saute till golden brown. Add ground cilantro paste and rice without any water. Stir. Add 2 cups broth. Cover and bring to a boil, then simmer on medium low heat covered for 15 minutes. Rice will be perfectly cooked. Serve hot.