Mint Coriander Rice

Ingredients

Rice (Basmati or any other rice) - 2 cups (washed & soaked)

Onion - 1 (chopped or sliced)

Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp

Water - 3 cups

Salt - to taste

Ghee/ Oil - 2 tbsp

To Grind

Mint Leaves - 1 cup

Coriander Leaves (Cilantro) - 1 cup

Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup

Ginger -  1" piece

Garlic - 4 cloves

Green Chilies - 5 or 6

Whole Garam Masala - 1" piece cinnamon stick, 3 cloves, 2 cardamom, 1 star anise

Fennel Seeds - 1 tsp

For Tempering

Cashews/Peanuts - 2 tbsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Channa Dal - 1 tsp

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Dry Red Chillies - 1

Bay Leaf - 1

Method

Make a paste of all the ingredients under 'To Grind'.

Heat ghee/oil in a pan or pressure cooker. Fry all the ingredients under 'For Tempering'.  (Tip :- The tempering is absolutely optional. It adds a nice crunch to the rice dish. I personally like to add tempering when I have mint coriander rice as a simple meal with some papad, boiled egg or raita. But when I have with some rich side dishes like chicken curry, I like to make it plain without any tempering (Pudhina Pulav).)

Add the chopped onions and saute till it turns golden brown.

Next add the ground paste. Saute on a medium flame for 5-10 minutes till the masala turns dark green, all the raw smell has vanished and oil starts separating. 

Add 3 cups of water, lemon juice and required salt. Bring it to a boil.

Add the soaked rice to this. Cover the pressure cooker (or pan), reduce the flame and cook for 20-25 minutes. You can also transfer everything to a rice cooker and cook till the rice is done.

Switch off. Gently fluff up the rice and keep it covered for another 5-10 minutes before serving.

Variations

As I have already mentioned, you can make it as a traditional mint-coriander rice with all the tempering. If not, you can make it like 'Mint- Coriander Pulav' without any tempering.

You can also make Mint- Coriander Biriyani by adding some vegetables or chicken before cooking the rice.

You can make this with just mint leaves (Mint Rice) or with only Coriander Leaves (Coriander Rice).