Punjabi Thali....Celebrating Vaisakhi....Matar Paneer Ka Pulav

One of the festivities that I miss from Canada is Vaisakhi. Vaisakbhi or Baisakhi not only is the celebration of spring harvest primarily in Punjab, but also is the date for the Indian solar New Year. It is celebrated either the 13th or 14th of April, but in Canada is the long weekend of May. We used to go to the parades every year, and we ate in the Gurdwaras with our friends....

This year, we celebrated at home with a Punjabi thali. Thali is an Indian style meal that has a selection of different dishes  served on a tray. In 2019, we went to Mumbai, and visited one of their famous thali restaurants Shree Thaker Bhojanalay. Today the price for the dinner is around USD$7, and you can eat as much as you want. It is a feast that conquer all your senses.

You start with an empty tray

You end up with something like this. Because you run out of spacse, the desserts are outside the tray

My Punjabi thali was modest compare to the ones in India, but it was delicious. The source of these recipes is here. I will be posting the recipes in different posts. I'm starting with the rice recipe for this thali

Matar Paneer Ka Pulav

2 tbsp ghee

2 bay leaves

a piece of cinnamon 3 cm

4 pieces of cardamom

3 pieces of cloves

8 blackpepper

1/2 cup of onion

3 garlic cloves + 2 cm ginger. These are grinded together to make a paste

1/2 tbsp turmeric

1/2 tbsp salt

1 tsp garam masala

1 tbsp kasoori methi

1/2 cup green peas

1 cup soaked basmati rice

2 cups of water

1 cup diced paneer in cubes previously fried 

6-8 pieces of cashew

Heat the ghee and add all the spices in the order that are listed above. Extract their aromas for 5 minutes at low flame. Add the green peas, basmati rice and water. Incorporate the paneer and cashew. Stir it well. Cook it at low heat for 20 minutes. ENJOY!