Pushpanna: Festival Prasadam Rice Recipe

This is Pushpanna. It's a festival rice dish, and is rich, heavy and dripping in ghee. That is reason enough for it to be a massively loved dish in this house which is almost married to ghee, no? The reason it is called Pushpanna is because this rice is fragrant. Make it and you will know - its aroma lingers like flowers from a large bouquet.

And no, I have no rant to add to this for now. Because sometimes, all you need is a hearty meal, lots of ghee, lots of love and divine intervention. Did I tell this is also a Sattvic dish? It totally qualifies to be made as Bhog too. Go ahead. Don't deprive yourself.

Name: Pushpanna

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Recipe Source: The Hare Krishna Book Of Vegetarian Cooking

Serves: 2 hungry people or a room full of people who will get a spoon each - after all, it is prasadam food too!

You need:

130 gms or 1 heaping cup of Basmati or Ambe Mohar rice, washed, soaked for 10 minutes

100 gms fresh, soft paneer

15-20 raisins / kishmish

1-2 bay leaves

1 tsp cumin seeds / jeera

1 tsp fennel seeds / saunf

6 tbsp ghee

Salt to taste

Water

To be ground to a powder:

1 inch cinnamon stick

1 tbsp dhania / coriander seeds

5-6 black pepper corn

4 cloves

3 green cardamom pods, cracked open

1 tsp nutmeg powder

1/2 tsp hing / asafoetida

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

For the garnish:

Chopper coriander leaves

1/4 cup ghee fried dessicated coconut until golden brown

Half a fistful ghee fried broken cashews

Here's how you make it:

- In a small pan, heat 2 tbsp ghee. When hot, add the cashew, fry till golden brown, drain and set aside.

- In the same pan, add some more ghee to the existing ghee, fry the dessicated coconut. When golden brown, set aside.

- In a deep sauce pan, heat the remaining ghee. When hot, add the bay leaf, fennel seeds, cumin seeds. When they splatter, add the ground masalas and raisins. Mix well.

- Add the rice, mix well. When the rice is lightly fried, add double the quantity of water - so if it's a cup of rice, add two cups of water. Add salt. Tear the fresh paneer into little pieces and drop it into the rice. Cover and cook with water on the lid for 10-12 minutes n medium flame.

- When the rice is ready, the water will be gone and those little wells will appear all over the surface. Turn off the heat.

- Now dunk in the cashew and coconut. Mix lightly with a fork.

- Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot. People may want to have this with some curd but we? We don't care for anything getting in the way of the ghee and dry fruit laden richness of this delightful festival food. Dig in, enjoy :)