Puzzled

Hubby dear's friends/lab mates/ex-roomates/classmates/co-workers/family members all know about his penchant for solving puzzles and asking them. When we started going around, I was subjected to one puzzle a day until when I strongly protested :P. Whenever, we have a re-union of friends and his btech batchmates, the usual ritual is that they are subjected to solve puzzles, puzzles and more puzzles after a glass of beer. This time in Dec we were all up till 3 am in consecutive nights solving puzzles given by him. He maintains a blog on algorithms and puzzles to whet his appetite. However, today his puzzle solving obsession peaked a new height when I saw him talking to my Mom in the kitchen. He was making her solve a few of his usual puzzles :P What to say but that I married the cutest geek!

Mom's recipe: Vegetable Pulao

Ever since mom has come to the US, I have been getting the pleasures of eating all the stuff at home that I missed for 4 years! One of her recipes that I really like (and that I think I can make myself) is Vegetable pulao. Here is the recipe -

Ingredients:
Rice
Oil
1 tblsp Jeera
2-3 Tejpaat
10 Black pepper
3 Badi Ilaichi
3 Laung
2 Cinamon sticks
1 Ripe tomato made into puree and mixed 
1 Onion chopped
1/2 inch ginger grated
1 Potato chopped
2 Carrot chopped into long slices
1/2 cup cauliflower chopped
1/2 cup beans chopped. 
1 Large spoon oil
Salt as per taste
1 Cup rice cooked

1. Heat 1 spoon oil. Put jeera, tejpaat, pepper, cinamon, laung ang ilachi
2. Fry onions until light brown. Fry grated ginger too.
3. Put all vegetables and let them cook for some time.
4. Once the vegetables are done, add tomato puree and stir for sometime.
5. Add cooked rice and mix.