Before you begin

• Prep required: Wash basmati rice and soak for 30 minutes
• Time taken: 15 minutes to wash and chop vegetables, 30 minutes to cook.
• Equipments required: Rice cooker/ pressure cooker and wok/kadhai
• serves: 2-3

Ingredients for Making Pot Rice

• 1/2 cup basmati rice, washed and soaked for 30 minutes
• 2 star anise
• 2 tbsp oil
• 5-6 cloves garlic, 1 inch garlic and 1 green chilli finely chopped
• 1 chicken breast, sliced thinly and marinated in salt and pepper (optional)
• 200gm mushrooms, sliced
• choice of vegetables (I have used french beans, carrots and spring onions), steamed for 5 minutes
• Broccoli florets
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 1 tbsp cornflour mixed with 1/4th cup water
• salt to taste
• spring onion greens to garnish

Method for Making Pot Rice

1. In a rice cooker or pressure cooker, cook the basmati rice with star anise and required amount of water (I use 1:2 ratio).
2. Heat oil in a wok, add the chopped ginger, garlic, green chillies and saute until the raw smell goes.
3. Add the chicken and stir fry until cooked (It is optional, you can skip to keep it vegetarian)
4. Add the mushrooms, steamed vegetables and enough water you would like. Once it comes to a boil, add soya sauce, vinegar, salt.
5. Thicken the gravy with cornflour slurry and add the broccoli florets towards the end as it cooks the fastest. Cover and cook for just 2 minutes as all the vegetables are mostly cooked.
6. Assemble the cooked rice on a platter, and discard the star anise. Pour the gravy on top, and garnish with spring onion greens.
   An alternative way to serve this is to mix both the gravy and rice in the wok, and sprinkle spring onions to garnish.

Video Link for Making Pot Rice