Contributed by Angela Cleveland (Recipe adapted from “Recipe Source” at www.recipesource.com)

Ingredients

6 Tbs Vegetable oil
1 Onion, thinly sliced
1 Garlic clove, chopped
10 Whole cloves
1 Cinnamon stick
10 Cardamom pods
2 Bay leaves
¼ tsp Turmeric powder (opt)
1 ½ C Basmati rice
3 C Hot water
1 tsp Salt
½ C Carrots or Parsnips
½ C Peas
½ C Golden raisins
¼ C Almonds or cashews

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large pot. Saute the onion until soft, and add the chopped garlic. Add the cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves and turmeric powder. Lower the heat and add the rice. Continue to fry and stir until the rice is well coated in the spices and starts to become transparent. Add hot water (exactly double the measure of basmati rice), and salt, and cover the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat. Stir in the peas and carrots/parsnips and cover. Check rice every 5 minutes to see whether the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender. When the rice is done, fry the raisins and almonds in some oil and then add to the rice mix.

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