Name: Attock chana rijai (Chickpea and cumin pulao with brown rice)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: Serves 4–6
Cuisine: Pakistani
Ingredients: 2 x 400 g/14 oz cans chickpeas or 300 g/10½ oz/1⅔ cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and boiled; 25 ml/1 fl oz/2 tbsp water; 2 green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped; salt, to taste; 1 tsp each of crushed garlic and grated ginger; 1 tsp whole black peppercorns; 2 large red onions, cut into half moons; 1 black cardamom pod; 2 tsp cumin seeds; 1 star anise; 250 g/9 oz/1¼ cups brown basmati rice; 2 tbsp ghee

Preparation info

Serves
4–6

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
55 min

Appears in

Summers Under the Tamarind Tree

By Sumayya Usmani

Published 2016

About

A wonderfully warm dish, this pulao has a recipe which was passed on to me by my friend Moneeza, whose father is from Attock. This pulao is cooked in a stock made with caramelised onions and spices. The addition of chickpeas and the use of brown basmati rice makes it a healthy dish – and well known for soothing a sore tummy (just leave out the green chilli). I’ve adapted this recipe by adding black cardamom and star anise: it makes it even more earthy and smoky.