Pilau or Pilloff

Ingredients

• 2 blades of mace
• 3 curry leaves
• 1 oz. of green ginger, thinly sliced
• 5 quarts of cold water
• 2 teaspoons of coarse sea salt
• hard-boiled eggs, for garnish
• 2 lbs. of lean mutton, sliced
• 4 onions, halved
• 1 lb. of ghee or butter
• 2 lbs. of rice, washed and dried
• peppercorns, to taste
• cloves, to taste
• cardamoms, to taste

Directions

1. In a stewpan, combine the mutton, halved onions, cold water, and salt. Bring to a boil.

2. Skim off any foam, then add the fowl and cook gently until tender. Set aside.

3. Continue simmering the broth until reduced to about 2 quarts. Strain and press the meat to extract juices.

4. In a separate pan, heat ghee and fry the remaining onions until browned. Drain excess fat.

5. Reheat the ghee and fry the fowl, turning frequently until browned. Remove and set aside.

6. In the same pan, fry the rice, adding peppercorns, cloves, cardamoms, mace, curry leaves, green ginger, and additional salt if needed.

7. Gradually add the reserved broth as the rice absorbs the butter. Cook until the rice is tender.

8. Place the fowl on top of the rice, cover, and let it sit until some moisture evaporates, leaving the rice fluffy.

9. Serve the fowl garnished with quartered hard-boiled eggs.