Wash and rinse the rice with cold water until the water runs clear. Soak the rice in 6 cups of cold water mixed with 6 tablespoons of salt and set aside for a couple of hours. Drain but don’t rinse the rice. Make sure that you don’t use your hand or a utensil during this process. Basmati rice is very delicate and can easily break.

In a large non-stick pot, add 6–8 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, and bring to a boil. Add the drained rice to the boiling water and cook the rice for about 7 minutes until it is parboiled or al dente—the grain needs to be soft from the outside and firm in the centre. Drain and rinse the parboiled rice in cold water.

Wash and dry the pot. In the same pot, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil; then arrange the potato slices in a single circular layer and fry on high heat for a couple of minutes.

Begin to layer the pot with a third of the parboiled rice, followed by a layer of half of the green peas and dill. Repeat the steps with another layer of a third of the parboiled rice and the rest of the green peas and dill. The final layer should be the remaining parboiled rice. Make three holes in the layers of the rice with the handle of a spatula or wooden spoon.