Masala Pulagam / Moong daal rice

My mother-in-law prepares this recipe every Monday, My husband is not a great fan of this recipe. So I thought of drawing his attention towards this recipe by trying this with some spices which enhances the taste.

Masala Pulagam with Peanut chutney

Ingredients:

1 cup Rice

1 cup Split Green gram / Moong daal with skin

Water – 4 cups
Cumin seeds / Jeera – 1 tsp
Ginger – 1 inch
Cloves – 4
Cinnamon – ½ inch
Garlic – 3 – 4 cloves
Curry leaves - Hand full
Salt - 1 tsp or as per your taste
Ghee – 1 tblsp

Method: 
Wash and Soak rice and moong daal in 4 cups of water for 30 minutes.

Soaked Rice and Moong daal (green gram)

Grind garlic, ginger, cloves and cinnamon. Take a small deep pan and heat it with 1 tblsp ghee. When it is hot enough add curry leaves, cumin seeds and the ground paste and fry for 1 -2 minutes.

Frying the spicy mixture in ghee (Clarified butter)

Add this mixture to the rice and add about 1 tsp of salt or as per your taste. Stir once and cook the rice until done.

Rice & Moong daal with spicy mixture

Masala Pulagam with peanut chutney

Note: I cook this recipe in rice cooker and use 1:2 ratios of rice/daal and water. But if you use different methods like on stove top or pressure cooker, then the ratios might vary. You can also replace ghee with any vegetable oil.