Bell Pepper Rice

I made this bell pepper rice for today's lunch. It is a very easy one-pot dish, great for a weeknight dinner too. I bought a bag of gourmet bell peppers from BJs, I used half of them in this dish.

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice - 2 cups, soaked for at least 30 mins
Bell Peppers - 4, chopped into 1" pieces (I used one each of red, yellow, orange & green peppers)
Red Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Tomato puree - 3 tbsp
Biryani Masala paste- 1 tbsp (I used Patak's brand) (optional)
Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp (I used MTR brand)
Red Chili powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

Spices:
Shah Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon stick - 1' piece
Cloves - 3
Cardamom - 2
Bay leaves - 2
Method:

• Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker, add all the spices and saute for 30 seconds until they are fragrant. Add onions and fry until reddish brown.
• Add peppers and increase the flame to medium high. Fry the peppers till they turn slightly brown around the edges, about 5-8 minutes.
• Add tomato puree, biryani masala paste (if using), garam masala, red chili powder and salt; mix well and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add rice along with 2 1/2 cups of water (thats the measure I use for my basmati rice, it might change depending on the type of rice you are using). Cover and cook for 2 whistles on medium-high flame, should take about 8-10 minutes.

Serve hot with chips.