Cheese & Bell-Pepper Pulao (Rice Pilaf)


cheese & bell-pepper rice pulao Cheese is one such versatile ingredient that adds taste and glamour to any recipe. Just as it did to our week-night dinner recipe of this delicious Bell-pepper & Cheese Rice Pilaf (Pulao) which was beautiful to look at and even more wonderful to eat! Generally, rice pulao needs a dal or curry to go with it, but this Pulao Recipe stands all on its own, and is definitely not a sidekick! Mildly flavored with saffron, turmeric and spices, the bell-peppers lend it texture while the cheese accentuates the taste and color, as well as induces a smoothness in each bite.

Standing on its own, this beautiful yellow-colored Cheese Pulao is also a symbol of strength, hope and life! And this is just what Bri needs at this point in her life.

Brianna is a fellow food-blogger, who was diagnosed with breast cancer two and half years ago. But after a mastectomy, chemotherapy and two years of relatively good health, the cancer is back. It has metastasized to other parts of her body. At the age of 15, Bri lost her 41-year old mother to the disease. Now, she’s waging her own war against breast cancer. She is going through intensive chemotherapy and other treatments, but her health insurance, unfortunately, does not cover holistic alternatives which she would like to try. Bri and her husband Marc have enough on their plates right now in addition to worrying about her medical bills.

The team at Jugalbandi has organised a fundraiser to help Bri and her family meet her out-of-pocket medical costs for ONE YEAR. CLICK, a monthly theme-based photography contest hosted by Jugalbandi has chosen the theme as: YELLOW for Bri, as an attempt to gather at least 12,000 U.S. dollars. There’s a raffle with exciting prizes on offer. Your donation can be made securely through the Chip-In button below, using credit card or via Paypal and goes directly to Bri’s account. We appeal to our fellow bloggers and readers to help us achieve this. Bri deserves a chance to explore all options, even if her insurance company thinks otherwise. We appreciate your contribution for this cause, and you can support us by making donations, or by sponsoring prizes for Click and spreading the word! This is my entry for the event "Click- For Bri"



And now, for the recipe, which will also go to Astrid, who's hosting this week's WHB, an event started by Kalyn!

Cheese & Bell-Pepper Rice Pilaf

Ingredients
3 cups long-grained rice (Basmati) - washed and cooked
1 medium-sized green bell-pepper - chopped long and thin
1/2 cup yellow cheese - shredded
1/4 cup fresh mozarella or italian cheese - shredded
1/2 onion - finely chopped
2 green chillies or jalapenos - finely chopped
6-8 pieces of cashews - split in half - roasted
2 tbsp fresh cilantro - chopped for garnish
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
3 tbsp oil
salt - to taste
lemon juice - to taste
1/4 tsp saffron strands - dissolved in warm water
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp garam masala

Method
Wash and cook the rice as you normally do. Using long-grained rice like Basmati helps give it a better texture, but you can use normal rice too, without compromising the taste.

Warm 2 tbsp water and add the saffron strands to it. Let it bleed while you prepare the rice.

Take 1 tbsp oil and roast the cashews in it till they turn light brown in color.

Take a wok, add oil and cumin seeds to it. When the latter start spluttering, add the green chillies and chopped onions and saute till they become soft and glazed.

Now add the chopped green bell-peppers and saute again. Add all the dry spices and salt, and cook covered for 5 mins, till the peppers are tender and cooked through.

Add the roasted cashews to the wok.

Next, add the dissolved saffron along with the water, and add the cooked rice to it. Mix everything together so it gets colored and the spices are evenly distributed. Add the lemon juice and half of the shredded yellow cheese, then allow to cook for another 8-10 mins.

When the rice looks cooked and emanates the aroma of saffron, take it off the stove. Gingerly sprinkle the remaining cheese and chopped cilantro and mix just to combine.

Serve with some Raita or a curry of your choice. This Cheese & Bell-Pepper Rice tasted so good we just gobbled it up as soon as I took it off the stove. It's so good, you'll hardly ahve any leftover remaining. And if you do, try using them to make these delicious Rice & Cheese Cutlets

Similar Recipes:
Lemon & Coconut Rice
Vaghareli Khichdi & Kaddhi
Spinach & Corn Pulao


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29 comments :

Rachel said...

mansi..another great recipe.....cheese ina pilaf...that must be something...

Anonymous said...

that's brilliant! you keep amazing me with your kitchen experiments Mansi! thanks for sharing:) and also for supporting such a noble cause! I hope you all can collect the target amount for brianna!

~anjali

Finla said...

Beautifully written .
Love the click and also the pulao, will have to try with the addition of cheese, never have did with cheese

Vanamala Hebbar said...

Nice & different .... lovely

bee said...

that is a spectacular pulao. thank you, dear mansi, for your support.

Anonymous said...

Hi Mansi:

What an attractive dish and kudos to you for a great website.
As I lost my sister to cancer last year, my heart goes out to Brianna and her family.
When you have some time will you check out my newbie site: Payt Pooja.com.
Thanks

Mansi said...

thanks for all you encouragement folks! and I hope we all can come together to help Bri with prayers and our monetary support!

@the_whisk_affair said...

i really love ur recipes because u really are a culinary artist! you u experiment with flavors and u invent compatible stuff! great job, mansi!

Hetal said...

Awesome recipe....looks so tempting.

The Short (dis)Order Cook said...

This looks like it could be a meal in itself. Forget the curry.

Dee said...

Mansi , anothr great dish from your recipe treasure chest. I love the flavours of cheese and peppers combined!

Uma said...

what a wonderful way to cook bell pepper pulao! looks so mouth-watering. that's a beautiful click too!

Medhaa said...

Very Creative, I love cheese and will try this soon, thanks for sharing

ranji said...

awesome mansi...love the combo of cheese and bell pepper..looks delicious..lovely presentation too:)

Kalai said...

Love the idea of adding cheese to a pulao! Will have to try this for sure. Love the post overall! :)

Mcwhisky said...

Pulao, that's a new term for me! Very interesting post you have here. The arrangement for the dish you've made is lovely.

Anonymous said...

That's a good combo. Looks good. Should taste good too...

Ramya's Mane Adige said...

beautiful recipe!!! Sure it tasted gr8!

Mike of Mike's Table said...

Cheese and pepper sounds like a great mix to me--that's a tasty looking pilaf

Ramya Bala said...

Mansi,Thanks for dropping by and you have a wonderful blog!!!

Lore said...

Love the idea of adding cheese to a rice pilaf. Brilliant! Before I'm bookmarking this I just want to thank you for visiting my blog and leaving such a nice comment :)

SMN said...

Manasi nice combo for pulao and nice entry for the event

FH said...

GORGEOUS Mansi, yum yum!:))

Laavanya said...

That looks so good Mansi! What a great combination!

Lisa Turner said...

I will be making this. I made a mushroom pulao last night, but I wouldn't have if I had seen this recipe first. Lovely. A meal onto itself, yes.

Simply...Gluten-free said...

This looks great, wonderful presentation too!

Red Chillies said...

Awesome and yummy recipe Mansi.

Mansi said...

thank you folks! your comments and appreciation is this blog's lifeline...this is one of my hubby's fav too, and I'm glad I'm getting better with my recipes, presentation and mainly the photos!:)D

Kalyn Denny said...

What a lovely entry for Click. I'm happy to see so much yellow food. The rice looks delicious!