Cashew Rice with Diced Potatoes

Although one might not think to serve rice and potatoes together due to their starch content, this recipe for Cashew Rice with Potatoes from Yamuna Devi's Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking may cause you to reconsider that assumption. Ms. Devi says the starch content is about the same, so combining the two really only yields the same amount as a portion of rice. This dish uses fresh garam masala, which is really quite easy to make and more flavorful than ready made blends.

For a complete and satisfying vegetarian meal, serve with a legume dish, such as Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Corn and Dill.

Cashew Rice with Diced Potatoes

For the Garam Masala:

5 black peppercorns
6 whole cloves
2 inch piece of cinnamon stick
1/2 tablespoon of coriander seeds
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
2 tablespoons of fresh or dried shredded coconut

For the Rice:

1 cup of basmati rice
3 tablespoons of ghee or a mixture of butter and oil
1/2 cup of raw cashews, broken into bits
1 teaspoon of ginger, finely minced or shredded
2 - 3 teaspoons of hot green chillies, finely minced
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
8 - 10 fresh or dried curry leaves
1 large potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of salt
2 - 2 1/2 cups of water
1 tablespoon of butter or ghee
3 tablespoons of fresh or dried coconut for garnishing
2 - 3 tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley for garnishing (optional)

To make the Garam Masala:

In a small heavy frying pan, roast the peppercorns, whole cloves, cinnamon stick, coriander seeds and cumin seeds over low heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and break the cinnamon stick into small pieces.

Grind together the roasted spices, sesame seeds and coconut until you have a fine powder. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

For the Rice:

Wash the rice well in a small strainer, soak overnight or for a few hours, drain and let air dry for about 15 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-low heat until hot. Fry the cashew pieces until they are golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Raise the heat and add the ginger, green chilies, cumin seeds and black mustard seeds to the pot. Fry until the mustard seeds turn gray and begin to pop. Add the curry leaves, stir, and then add the potato. Stir fry for 6-8 minutes, or until the potato is nicely browned. Now add the rice, turmeric and salt. Stir and fry for about one minute. Pour in the water, garam masala and fried cashews. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to very low and cover and cook until the liquid is absorbed - about 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat, let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter, fluff with a fork. Garnish with coconut and parsley if desired.

Serves 4 - 5.

This is my entry to Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Katie from Thyme for Cooking.