Keema Matar Rice - Rice with Ground Chicken and Green Peas

I am all for quick & easy one pot meals nowadays! My hyper active 4 year old who demands attention all the time will not start school till January, which only means that I have very less time for cooking. Also, the weather is not helping at all! It drizzled for the better part of the day today. For lunch it was baked salmon and steamed mixed vegetables - a quick fix meal which took me less than 30 minutes to make. And for dinner, it is Keema Matar Rice and for dessert we will have Kalakand and some Lindt truffles.

Ingredients:

• Basmati Rice - 2 Cups
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
• Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp (1 inch cinnamon, 2 cardamom pods, 3 cloves - powdered using a mortar pestle or spice grinder.)  
• Sugar - 1/2 tsp
• Kashmiri Mirch - 1/2 tsp  
• Ginger Paste - 1/2 tsp
• Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
• Onion - 1 Cup, chopped
• Green Chilies - 1 or 2, finely chopped.
• Ground Chicken - 250 gram
• Green Peas - 1 Cup
• Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - 1/4th Cup, chopped
• Tomatoes - 1 small, chopped
• Water - 3 1/2 Cup
• Salt to taste
• Oil - 1 tbs

Wash the rice and keep aside. In a pan, heat oil and temper it with cumin seeds. Once the seeds start spluttering, add the onions, ginger-garlic paste, tomatoes, green chilies and sugar and fry well. Once the raw smell is gone, add ground chicken along with the garam masala, cumin & coriander powder, kashmiri mirch, salt and cook till the oil separates. It will turn a darker brown. Throw in the peas. Cook for couple of minutes and add the rice and throw in the chopped cilantro. Stir well. Add the water, cover and cook on medium. It took about 12 minutes for it to cook - but the time will vary. Make sure to fluff the rice once in between. Serve warm.