(VEG) Snow Peas Pilaff with Fried Paneer (rice dish)

Ingredients:

- 1 cup of Basmati Rice (you can cook it with brown Basmati Rice too), washed and dried.
- 1 cup of washed snow peas, with tips cut off .
- 1 cup of fried Paneer.
- Salt and sugar for taste.
- A pinch of saffron soaked in about 2 tbs of warm milk.
- 2 cups of water for cooking the rice.
- 2 whole cardamom (big).
- 11/2 tsp garam masala (small cardamom, cinnamon and cloves powdered together).
- 1 whole bay leaf.
- 1 tsp ghee (clarified butter).
- 1 tbs raisins (optional).

Heat some vegetable oil in a wok, put in the bay leaf, ghee and the whole big cardamom. Put the washed rice in the wok and stir it with the oil. Put salt and 1-1/2 tsp sugar, mix it with the rice.
When the rice looks fried enough, pour in two cups of water. Make sure the water level is one inch above the level of the rice. As the water starts to boil, lower the heat and cover. When the rice is parboiled, throw in the snowpeas, paneer and ground garam masala. Leave the cover on until the water has fully dried and the rice is cooked. It should be "al dente". Take the wok off the heat and fluff the rice gently with a spatula. Then sprinkle the saffron soaked milk and the raisins over the rice. Mix it gently with the rice. Serve hot.