Vegetable Pulao
Pulao…another main contender in the “Comfort food” category scoring extremely high in Indian cooking; along with a few others to follow after, like Tomato rice, Ghee rice and other versions of spiced rice. A truly popular main course dish invariably finding its way in the façade of Indian cuisine…thx to the aromatic vibes it creates that tends to keep all profoundly fascinated. An absolutely alluring one that makes you strongly crave to devour only the “comforting foods” in the days to follow…. ;-)Talking about pulao, though basically it’s recipe roots can be found strongly attached to the North Indian cuisine, this dish has in fact slowly crossed the threshold of South Indian cuisine too…leaving them too absolutely mesmerized and eventually mounting their vehemence to have pulaos at home or at restaurants. And so here I am, trying to please my cravings for aromatic home made pulaos too…. And honestly, much better than the restaurant made ones...which I found to be either too over cooked or lightly cooked…too oily or too insipid. And so, when I tried this simple version one day after a long research on internet and family experts’ advice plus my modest culinary skills, I was granted a verdict that was aptly favourable. So they say…. ;-p
Pursuing the basic trait of our Indian cooking, this too is no different at all and alike all the other Indian food, it too differs in colour, texture and procedures in almost all households in India thereby giving us lots of recipe options to choose from. :) Good for us…. Can try one everyday…. ;-) One of the remarkable aspect I noticed was that Pulaos could be made in two ways; one using the left over rice and the other one by pressure cooking the raw rice. And personally I don’t like to use left over rice as it doesn’t tend to absorb all the spice and masala flavours. So, I always opt to pressure cook the whole thing together to get a more flavoursome version.
Vegetable pulao served with Onion-Tomato Salad and Egg-Peas Masala Curry
So, here’s how the recipe goes….
You’d require,
A cup of all veggies like Onion, Carrot, Potato, Green peas, Beans, etc (all diced)
2 cups of short/long grained Basmati rice
A big Ginger knob (probably a two inch piece wud do)
5 – 6 medium sized Garlic pods
1 – 2 Green chillies
Few Coriander leaves
Few Mint leaves
2 tsp of Pulao masala or Biriyani masala to spice up the dish
Salt – As required
¼ cup Ghee
Spices - :
A couple of Cinnamon pieces
3 – 4 Cloves
A couple of Cardamom
A tsp of Peppercorns
½ tsp of Fennel seeds
A tsp of Cumin seeds (optional)
1 – 2 Bay leaves
For garnishing - :
A few coriander leaves
Raisins and cashews fried in a tsp of ghee
Fried onions (if you have patience and lots of time to spare)
Method:-
1) Soak rice in water for atleast 30 minutes. Drain and keep it aside.
2) Grind the ginger, whole garlic pods, green chilies, mint leaves and coriander leaves in a blender.
4) Heat ghee in a pressure cooker.
5) Add the whole spices and stir until the whole things starts spluttering.
6) Add the ginger-garlic-chillies-coriander-mint paste and sauté until the raw smell leaves.
7) Add the veggies and mix well for some time.
8) Add the rice. Mix well and continue to stir for sometime.
9) Add 4 cups of water and mix well.
10) Add salt and mix again.
11) Pressure cook up to two whistles on high flame.
12) When done, garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and fried cashews and raisins.
13) Fluff and serve warm with Onion-Tomato salad, pickle, a couple of pappadums along with a spiced curry.
Options available:-
1) You can also sauté thinly sliced onions instead of adding diced ones for cooking. I usually add it along with the other veggies to save time and effort.
2) You can also add a couple of finely chopped tomatoes to add extra zest to the dish. But then, I guess it wud be mistaken for a biriyani. :D Apparently, people find pulao and biriyani too similar too make out the difference…. :)
You’d require,
A cup of all veggies like Onion, Carrot, Potato, Green peas, Beans, etc (all diced)
2 cups of short/long grained Basmati rice
A big Ginger knob (probably a two inch piece wud do)
5 – 6 medium sized Garlic pods
1 – 2 Green chillies
Few Coriander leaves
Few Mint leaves
2 tsp of Pulao masala or Biriyani masala to spice up the dish
Salt – As required
¼ cup Ghee
Spices - :
A couple of Cinnamon pieces
3 – 4 Cloves
A couple of Cardamom
A tsp of Peppercorns
½ tsp of Fennel seeds
A tsp of Cumin seeds (optional)
1 – 2 Bay leaves
For garnishing - :
A few coriander leaves
Raisins and cashews fried in a tsp of ghee
Fried onions (if you have patience and lots of time to spare)
Method:-
1) Soak rice in water for atleast 30 minutes. Drain and keep it aside.
2) Grind the ginger, whole garlic pods, green chilies, mint leaves and coriander leaves in a blender.
4) Heat ghee in a pressure cooker.
5) Add the whole spices and stir until the whole things starts spluttering.
6) Add the ginger-garlic-chillies-coriander-mint paste and sauté until the raw smell leaves.
7) Add the veggies and mix well for some time.
8) Add the rice. Mix well and continue to stir for sometime.
9) Add 4 cups of water and mix well.
10) Add salt and mix again.
11) Pressure cook up to two whistles on high flame.
12) When done, garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and fried cashews and raisins.
13) Fluff and serve warm with Onion-Tomato salad, pickle, a couple of pappadums along with a spiced curry.
Options available:-
1) You can also sauté thinly sliced onions instead of adding diced ones for cooking. I usually add it along with the other veggies to save time and effort.
2) You can also add a couple of finely chopped tomatoes to add extra zest to the dish. But then, I guess it wud be mistaken for a biriyani. :D Apparently, people find pulao and biriyani too similar too make out the difference…. :)
3) Since the cooking time changes with each kind of rice used, you can change the quantity of water accdg to its quality and texture. Though the usual ratio followed is 1 measure of rice : 2 measures of water, using 2 cups of water may result in over cooking of some varieties of rice. So, do be careful on the same and use only 1½ cups of water in such cases. And anyways, you’ll get this rite only after a couple of trial and errors.
4) Pls make sure you switch off the stove immediately after the 2 whistles (to avoid burning it).
5) You can also move around with the quantity of the whole spices and accdg to your tastes and preferences.
6) You can also reduce or increase the quantity of ghee accdgly. You can also add equal ratios of oil and ghee to pin down the overpowering brunt and smell of ghee.
7) You can also make it all the more nutritious by adding fried Soya chunks, sprouted lentils, cooked beans, etc.
8) You can also avoid grinding coriander leaves and mint leaves while cooking. I did so to give it a greenish look instead of the usual whitish version. Changes are always well entertaining, once in a while of course…. ;-p
4) Pls make sure you switch off the stove immediately after the 2 whistles (to avoid burning it).
5) You can also move around with the quantity of the whole spices and accdg to your tastes and preferences.
6) You can also reduce or increase the quantity of ghee accdgly. You can also add equal ratios of oil and ghee to pin down the overpowering brunt and smell of ghee.
7) You can also make it all the more nutritious by adding fried Soya chunks, sprouted lentils, cooked beans, etc.
8) You can also avoid grinding coriander leaves and mint leaves while cooking. I did so to give it a greenish look instead of the usual whitish version. Changes are always well entertaining, once in a while of course…. ;-p
So, there you are…an easy pulao within no time ready to be served to your loved ones, especially for those kids who simply abhor veggies. Being an all-time favourite of my little one (next on the list after Tomato rice), I try to make it every other day to make him have all the veggies. And of course, if you have some left over rice too staring at you in the fridge and are not sure what to make of it, don't ponder any more as you can definitely rustle up an instant pulao with some frozen veggies. A definite savior on all occasions, I believe.... :) Something that’s tasty, filling, nutritious yet comforting…to keep your tummy busy for at least 3 hours till the next ingestion. ;-p
So, on that comfort note, happy cooking!!!
Labels: For Lunch
posted by Viji at
8:25 AM
2 Comments:
Erm... Please do not tske it to heart if I ask this question...
Are these the only recipes available in the Indian Culture? Isn't it abit too little?
Hi Anon, thx for dropping by. cud u pls be specific as to the point u were trying to make.
thx
Viji
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home