4 cups Basmati rice
1 tbsp garlic-ginger paste
1 1/2 cup fish pieces
3 red dry chillies, ground
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 lemon
2 medium onions
15 peppercorns
6 cloves
2 1-inch sticks cinnamon
8 white cardamoms, crushed
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds powder
2 bay leaves
salt to taste
ghee and oil as required

Wash the rice clean and put in a colander to drain out the water.
Remove the black threads running at the back of the fishs and wash these fish pieces with water.
Smear with a little salt and lemon juice.
Keep aside for 1/2 an hour.
Cut the onions into thin slices.
Heat 3 tablespoons of refined oil in a heavy-bottomed dekchi and season it with peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon sticks, crushed cardamoms and bay leaf.
Add the ground chillies and the pastes of ginger and garlic.
Stir and put in the fish. Fry till oil starts oozing out.
Put in the rice, turmeric, cumin seeds powder and enough salt.
Fry for some time so that the rice comes to a pale yellow colour.
Pour 3 cups of hot water and squeeze in the juice of the lemon. Make the fire medium.
Let cook till the fish are tender and rice is cooked.
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of good ghee in another dekchi.
Put in the onion slices.
Fry till they are browned and become crisp.
Take out and keep aside.
Pour the ghee remaining in the dekchi over the ready fish pulav and mix well.
Transfer the pulav in a nice serving dish.
Garnish with the fried onion slices.
Serve hot. This easy-to-make pulav is simply delicious.