MATKI PULAO

Delicious Matki Pulao is my entry to Nupur's "A to Z vegetables" event this week with letter " M ". Thanks Nupur:)

What's Matki or Moath beans?!
Look at the picture below.I have no idea what they call it in English. All I can tell you is, it is one of the most nutritious beans and makes one delicious spicy Maharastrian Misal I used to eat a lot in Belgaum!:))

They are these cute tiny little whole grams as you can see.You can usually get them in the dry form and when soaked overnight,they plump up to a rich brown soft beans but still the tiniest of all the beans!!:D

This recipe is from Tarla Dalal's cookbook who comes up with the most innovative tasty vegetarian dishes ever and it's nutritious as well.I did change and added a little more to the recipe. Here it is...


Matki Pulao:




You Need:


1 cup long-grain rice cooked, 1 cup sprouted matki (moath) cooked, 1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing), 1 small onion chopped fine,2 green chillies, chopped, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp grated ginger, 4-6 spring onions, chopped, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi), 1/2 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder,2 small Tomatoes(Save few pieces for garnish), 1 tbsp oil, 3 cloves (powdered), salt to taste.For the garnish: Saved Tomato pieces, 2 tbsp chopped cilantro.




How to make the pulao:

Cook rice and Matki (do not overcook)separately and keep them aside.Heat the oil, add cumin seeds,onions fry until reddish.Add hing, green chillies, ginger, and spring onions,tomatoes, saute` for a few minutes.Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder,coriander powder and add 1/4 cup of water and salt.Simmer until the water is almost evaporated.


Add the cooked the matki ,clove pd,mix well and let it simmer for a while.Take it out and add this thick sauce to the rice and mix thoroughly.Adjust the salt.
Garnish with Tomato pieces and cilantro and serve with a Raita or lemon slices.



NOTE: To make this even more nutritious,you could let the Matki sprout. Soak in water for 6-8 hours,drain the water, and then tie them in a damp cloth.Put it in a dish covered and leave it overnight.They will sprout warm weather sooner than in cold.You can add Bell peppers and carrots to this Pulao to make it more colorful!

Makti beans(smaller)on your left and red Chori beans on your right!
Some of you do not know about Matki beans, so I took a photo to show you how the Matki beans look like.It's the tiny beans you see here on the left.Of course,you can use any beans to make this pulao including Moong:))



That's it.Enjoy the spicy healthy Matki Pulao:)