Indian Rice with Vegetables and Cherries

Rinse the rice with cold water and leave to soak in water for about 30 minutes.

Heat the milk in a small saucepan and add the saffron and 1 teaspoon of ghee. Remove from the heat.

Rinse and trim the celery and cut into thin sticks about 4 cm long (approximately 1 1/2 inches). Rinse the spring onions and also cut into 4 cm long pieces. Peel and finely chop the garlic and ginger. Mix the yogurt with a pinch of salt.

Bring about 1.5 liters of water to a boil (approximately 6 1/4 cups) and season with salt. Pour the drained rice into it along with the raisins and boil for about 5 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water and then drain again.

Heat the remaining ghee in a saucepan. Add the cinnamon, the cloves and cardamom and fry over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Next, add the garlic, ginger and celery and fry for another 3-4 minutes.

Season with chili powder, add the spring onions, 125 grams of yoghurt (approximately 4 ounces) and 100 ml of water (approximately 1/2 cup) and then remove from the heat.

Preheat the oven to 200°C (approximately 400ºF).

Transfer the vegetables to an ovenproof dish (with lid). Drain the cherries and mix in. Drizzle the remaining yogurt over it, followed by the rice and saffron milk.

Close the lid and bake for about 1 hour. In the last 15 minutes, remove the lid.