Cabbage-Pudina Pulao (Cabbage Mint Pilaf)

Can't believe there's only 10 days left for Christmas. But the weather here has been sending quite a few signals that it is almost winter and holiday season is just around the corner. We had 2 snow storms this week and the temperatures are below freezing. Can't wait for winter to end even before it started :-)
After that brief weather report, here's what's cooking in my house. I made this quick and easy (almost) 1 pot dish for one of our meals last week. Recipe is from a Telugu cooking show. I already have 2 cabbage rice recipes on the blog, but this one has whole garam masala spices and ground masala that gives a nice flavor to the dish.

In the original recipe, rice was cooked with the veggies in the pot making it a 1-pot dish, but I cooked the rice separately and added it to the veggies at the end. All in all it is a tasty variation to regular pulaos and can be prepared in short amount of time.

Ingredients:
Rice - 1cup (I used basmati rice, but any rice can be used)
Cabbage - 2cups, shredded
Onion - 1 medium, thinly sliced
Tomatoes - 2 medium, chopped
Mint - ½cup + 2tbsp, finely chopped
Ginger - 1" piece
Garlic - 3cloves
Coriander seeds - 1tbsp
Green chilies - 3~4 (adjust as per taste)
Yogurt - 2tbsp
Whole garam masala spices - 3 cloves, 2 cardamom pods, 1" cinnamon stick, 1 bay leaf
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Wash and soak rice for at least 30 minutes. 
• Cook rice till tender making sure that the grains are separate and not mushy. Set aside. Skip this step if you want to cook rice with the veggies.
• In the meantime, grind coriander seeds, ginger, garlic, green chilies, ½cup of mint and yogurt into a smooth paste. Set aside.
• Heat 2tbsp oil in a pan; add the whole garam masala spices and cook for about 1 minute or until fragrant. Next add onions and cook until the onions are slightly browned around the edges.
• Add the ground paste and cook until it does not smell raw anymore, about 2~3 minutes.
• Now add the cabbage and cook covered until tender, about 6~8 minutes.
• Add chopped tomatoes and cook till they are almost mushy.
• Now add the cooked rice, salt and 2tbsp mint; mix well and cook covered for 2~3 minutes. 
• If you want to make it a 1 pot dish, add uncooked rice after tomatoes are cooked along with 2 cups of water, salt and mint. Cook until all the water is absorbed and rice is tender. Pressure cooker can also be used.
• Turn off the heat and serve hot with some potato chips and yogurt.

Sending this to week's Valli's 'Cooking with Cookbook Challenge'.