Mugu baiy ( Dhal and rice pilaf)

Growing up I used to love listening to the radio. In those days the radio programmes kinda helped with figuring out the time too. Early morning baajaveri hendhunu ( or good morning show) means you have to be out the door to school before it ends or  you are bound to be late for school. Ebolhey eboalhey is a kids story programme I love to listen to and then there is roadha kurukurun ( sorry I have no idea how to translate these words) during Ramadhan.
 I miss the old radio announcers.  If you are wondering why on earth I am talking about radio announcers bear with me I am getting to the recipe in hand.
Anyway, nowadays I rarely listen to the radio. Now I catch bits and pieces of it when I step into the taxi to head towards the boys' school. It was during on one such trip I heard about this mugu bai recipe. One radio jockey as they would call them nowadays was giggling away with a caller ( yes giggling ) going "so what are you doing", and the caller goes, "I am having lunch of mugubai". The radio lady goes" really whats mugubai?" The caller goes, its rice and dhal, the radio lady has no clue. Once the caller goes off the air, the radio lady is still going with her second radio person," I wonder what mugu bai is, maybe its dhal curry and rice".

So Mugubai or dhal and rice pilaf is a local recipe. I later read about it and found that it pairs very well with aluvi riha or potato curry and believe me when I say this, its a match made in heaven.

The dal used here is yellow dhal. Soak the dhal first before cooking so it cooks along with the rice.  The onions are browned first, half is removed then cumin seeds, dhal and rice along with the remaining onions are cooked in the oil first before adding in the water.
Once the rice is cooked, and water has evaporated the onions are added in on top and covered and cooked over low heat. Then after  5 minutes,  switch off the heat and then fluff the rice before serving.

Yield: 4

Author: Nammi

Mugu baiy ( Rice and dhal pilaf)

ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup Basmati rice
• 1/2 cup yellow dhal or mung dhal
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 3-4 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
• 3 cups water ( approximate)
• 1 tsp salt

instructions:

How to cook Mugu baiy ( Rice and dhal pilaf)

1. Wash the rice and dhal separately.  Soak the dhal for 1 hour in water. 
2. Heat ghee in a large saucepan, add the onions and stir fry till they start to turn golden. Remove to a plate. 
3. Return the pan back on to the stovetop. Add the cumin seeds to the pan and stir fry on medium heat for a few seconds before adding the rice and the dhal ( water drained off). Stir the rice and dhal around to coat in the oil.
4. Add water.  I like to have the water about 2 inches above the rice layer when cooking this.  Add salt.
5. Cook the rice over medium heat, once the water on top evaporates check the rice and dhal is cooked, if not add another half cup water, cook for a further few minutes.
6. Once all the water evaporates from the top, lower the heat, add the fried onions on top and put the lid on.  Cook for a further 2-3 minutes and then switch off.   Remove the lid after 10 minutes, fluff the rice and mix it well to distribute the onions around the rice. 

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