I am a big fan of beans and rice in many forms, and I love trying new recipes exploring this combination. We made this recipe: https://fatimacooks.net/chana-pilau-pulao-pakistani-chickpeas-rice/ We followed it very closely, and it yielded a delicately seasoned dish that we inhaled.
Our modifications: first, we sliced a medium red onion along the grain. Second, we used all of the whole spices, but we reduced salt to 1 tsp (and we later seasoned with a little more salt at the end of cooking). Third, we used 14.5 oz no-salt chick peas (approx. 411 grams). We may double the amount next time, but we were reluctant to do that this first time in case it throw off the water-to-rice ratio. Fourth, we added 3 cups boiling hot water, and let the rice, chicken peas, and water boil vigorously together without a lid. When the liquid was largely absorbed, we wrapped the lid with a kitchen towel (as recommended) and reduced the heat to the lowest setting possible to steam (15 mins). We found that the kitchen towel absorbed excess moisture and resulted in fluffy rice.
Finally, before serving we removed the whole spices to avoid biting on them. We also garnished with minced cilantro. (Apr. 2024)
Note: We definitely recommend leaving the three bird eye chili peppers whole. I cut into one to eat with the finished meal, and it was extremely hot.
Cooking Adventures 