This is a good salad for parties. It's not really a salad though - more like cold rice. It's very colourful and this recipe will make a huge bowlful.
1 kg rice
2 green peppers
1 large carrot
5 cloves of garlic
2 tsp. tomato puree
Half tsp. chilli powder
Half tsp. of turmeric powder
1 tsp. whole coriander seed
6 cardamoms
Half tsp. anise or fennel seeds
Half tsp. whole black peppercorns
salt
juice of half a lemon
Oil(optional)
Chop the carrot and green peppers and put in the bottom of a fairly large pot. Rinse 2 mugs of rice and sprinkle it on top of the vegetables with the cardomoms and coriander and anise seeds. Add three and a tiny bit more mugs of water and a little salt. Bring to the boil, stir and turn the heat down as low as possible. Cover the pot tightly. It should take about twenty minutes to cook and absorb all the water. Meanwhile, get on with the other stuff.
Put one mug of rinsed rice in a smaller pot with the turmeric, peppercorns and a little salt. Add 1.6 mugs of water and bring to the boil. Lower the heat, stir and cover the pot.
In a third small pot put a mug of rinsed rice with the chilli powder, tomato puree, whole peeled garlic cloves and a little salt. Add 1.6 mugs of water and carry on as above. That should have taken care of all your rice and it's probably time to check your first pot.
When each pot is ready (taste the rice and look to see if all the water has been absorbed) remove the lid and switch off the heat. Leave to cool a bit. You can mix the three pots together after about twenty minutes, while the rice is still warm. Add the lemon juice at this stage and if you like, a few large glugs of vegetable oil. Use a fork when mixing to separate the grains and try to be gentle.