Masala Pulao with Soya Nuggets/Vadi

This is Mini's (my mom) quick,yummy,spicy pulao with Soya nuggets/vadi. One can add fried bread pieces or paneer instead of soya vadi.













Ingredients:-

2 cups of basmati rice cleaned
1 t spns of shah jeera
2 star anise
4 cloves
2 cardamom
1 inch cinnamon
3 tbl spns of rasam powder
2 green chillies chopped finely
1 1/2 tbl spns of ginger-garlic paste
1 t spn of garam masala
1/4 t spn of tumeric powder
4 tbl spns of ghee
3 tbl spns of oil
one sliced small sized tomato
1 cup of mixed veggies-like peas, carrot,beans and capsicum
1 medium sized onion sliced
10 soya vadis
3 tbl spns of sour cream (this is ideal. If not you can add full fat plain curds/yogurt)
8 cashews
5-6 leaves of coriander
salt to taste

Method:-
Add the soya vadis to 2 glasses of water and bring it to boil (can do this in the microwave too for 4-5 minutes) so that the raw smell goes off. Wash these vadis in cold water and set aside.

In a pan heat 3 tbl spoons of ghee.
Add shah jeera, cloves, cardamoms,cinnamon and star anise and fry.
Add the onions, green chillies and ginger garlic powder.Fry till the onions get transparent and light brown
Add another 1 tbl spn of ghee
Add the tomatoes, rasam powder,salt and garam masala. Fry well till the masala is cooked well.
Add the veggies and soya nuggets. cooked closed with sour cream for 10 minutes till the vegetables are cooked.
Add this to the rice and cook in a electric cooker or for one whistle in pressure cooker with 2 1/4 glasses of water .
Garnish with fried cashews in 1 tbl spn of ghee (add this ghee along with the cashews to the rice) and coriander leaves.
Serve with raita/plain yogurt/curds.