Jackfruit Pulao

 The Rice was washed and soaked for about thirty minutes(Do this only for Basmati Rice, as I did not use basmati- it was out of stock at home, I took the left over rice at home hence there is a strong flavour and aroma missing from this Pulao)

In some heated oil in a skillet, fry the cubed and nicely diced ripe jackfruit.Add in the thawed frozen peas as well and fry them till they are lightly brown. Remove it and drain off the excess oil.

In the same oil add four cloves, a small cinnamon stick, tear up your bayleaf,two cardamoms, a star anise and a tsp of caraway seeds also known as shahi jeera and saute them all until they crackle or change colour. To it add finely sliced onions, stir in some ginger garlic paste and chilly powder. Add the fried jackfruit and peas once all these come together and are lightly sauteed.

Add in half a tsp. of white pepper powder and salt to taste keeping in mind the amount of rice that you are going to add soon. If you are using the basmati rice , you need to add adequate water at this point and then the drained rice, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and cook till the rice is done. But as I used already cooked left over rice, I just added that into the spiced mix of onions and jackfruit and stirred them all in.

As it merges with the spices, I added in the already lightly fried cashewnuts as garnish, green finely chopped coriander, two tbsp. of cream, green chillies, lemon juice and stirred through the rice. If you are using the basmati rice all this goes in along with the seal of the vessel being tightly closed with dough on a very low heat(also called as dum)for about ten to fifteen minutes.

Once cooked and ready to serve you can also decorate the rice with nicely sliced and fried brown onions. I haven't! oil, oil and more oil freaks me out :) But please do so for an authentic flavour.
Generally people do not make pulaos with Jackfruit but I was totally inspired when I came across this recipe in an old compiled cook book by various chefs and also when I got myself a nice packet of jackfruit.
Serve with a raitha(please check on my blog for raithas, a spicy lime pickle and a papad)

I guess you can do this with pineapple as well!