Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients

• 500 gm long grain Basmati Rice or any other rice
• Few drops of Sprig All Natural Color Extract: Spinach Green, Paprika Orange, Marigold Yellow
• 3/4 cup sugar adjustable
• 4 green cardamoms
• 4 cloves
• 1/2 inch cinnamon stick
• 2 small Bay Leaf
• 8 – 10 cashews
• 8 – 10 raisins
• 10 almonds
• 1 tbsp chironjee
• 5 pistachios
• 2-3 tbsp grated coconut
• 1 pinch saffron
• 4-5 tbsp ghee / clarified butter

Directions

• Wash rice in running water till water appears clear; soak the rice for 40-45 mins before cooking
• Heat water in a large vessel, the water measurement should be double the rice
• Once the water starts heating, add soaked rice along with green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf
• When the rice starts cooking, add 1 tsp of ghee and saffron and cook the rice till 90% done
• Turn off the gas and pass the rice through a colander to drain water.
• Collect the rice and spread on a wide tray so that the grains don’t stick to each other
• Meanwhile, fry the dry fruits in ghee, keep aside
• Heat 1 cup water in a wok and once it starts boiling, add sugar and boil till sugar melts and starts to thicken slightly
• Simmer the gas and add the cooked rice in the syrup and mix gently; let the rice cook in medium to high flame till everything starts drying up
• Add ghee and mix well, this will avoid the stickiness
• Once the rice is done, turn off the gas and divide it into three equal parts and in each part add 2-3 drops of Sprig All Natural Color Extracts of Spinach green, Marigold Yellow and Paprika Red
• Mix the colored rice individually in separate bowls till the color spreads evenly
• Add the fried nuts and raisins in the rice and give it a quick toss
• Garnish with some grated coconut and slivered almonds and serve warm

Recipe and photo courtesy of spoonforkandfood.com