Nasi Dhal Ayah

My father loves Fridays! He always insisted everyone to be home for our Friday long lunches before prayers. This day every week, we are treated with every variety of rice dishes you could imagine! Nasi Bokhari, Nasi Tomato, Nasi Minyak,Nasi Beriani Gam and the list goes on. Nasi Dhal is one of the rice dishes that we have and apart from Beriani Gam, it is my favourite rice dish!

Ingredients:~

• 3 cups Basmathi rice
• 3 ½ cups water
• 1 cup of water blended with 2 inches of ginger
  
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup dhal beans, soaked for an hour
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 pieces screwpine leaves, tied into a knot
• 5 cloves
• 5 cardamoms
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 star anise
• ½ onion, sliced finely
• 5 garlic, sliced
• ½ cup evaporated milk, mixed with 1 tbsp lime juice

~Method~

1. Wash the rice and drain. Put it in the rice cooker with the dhal, water, ginger juice and salt.
2. In a small pan, heat the oil and ghee. Fry the screwpine leaves, then the spices. Put the onions and garlic in the oil and sautee.
3. When the onion softens, pour the oil mixture onto the rice in the rice cooker. Stir briefly to mix the flavors in.
4. Start the rice cooker.
5. When the rice cooks, pour the milk evenly on top of the rice.
6. Let it rest a while. Eat after it rests for 10 minutes.