Veg Pulao

Can add any of your favourite vegetables.

  • Level

    Hard

  • Servings

    4

Ingredients

  • For Soaking Rice
  • 1.5 cups or 300 gms white long grain basmati rice rinsed & soaked for 30 minutes
  • Water to fully submerge the rice - as required for soaking
  • Vegetables
  • 1/4 cup chopped potatoes
  • 1/4 cup chopped carrots
  • 1/4 cup green peas (fresh or frozen)
  • 1/4 cup chopped french beans (optional)
  • 1/4 cup corn (optional)
  • Other Ingredients
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 1 cup thinly sliced onions or 1 large onion sliced
  • 1/2 chopped tomatoes or 1 medium sized tomato chopped
  • 1 to 1.5 inches ginger crushed to a paste in a mortar-pestle
  • 4 to 5 small to medium garlic cloves
  • 1 small green chilly deseeded and chopped (if you like spicy add more and do not deseed)
  • 3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
  • 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves (optional)
  • 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
  • 3 cups water
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt or as required
  • Whole Spices
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds or 1 teaspoon caraway seeds (shah jeera)
  • 1 tej patta (indian bay leaf)
  • 4 cloves
  • 3 to 4 green cardamoms
  • 1 black cardamom
  • 1 small piece of mace
  • 1 small star anise
  • 1 inch cinnamon
  • 1 small piece of stone flower (dagad phool or patthar ke phool) (optional)
  • For Garnish
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves or mint leaves

Method

    Preparation
    Rinse rice till the water runs clear of starch and become transparent while rinsing.
    Soak the rice in water fully submerging the rice for 30 minutes.
    Drain all the water and keep the soaked rice aside.
    Rinse, wash peel and chop the vegetables.
    Crush chopped ginger, garlic green chilly to a paste in a mortar-pestle or grind them in a small mixer or grinder with a bit of water.
    Frying Spices And Onions
    In a deep thick bottomed pot or deep bottom non stick frying pan, heat oil on medium flame setting.
    Lower the gas to the lowest flame setting and fry all the whole spices till the oil becomes fragrant and the spices start to splutter.
    Increase the gas to medium flame setting, add onions, mix well and saute them until golden and stir continuously so that the onions do not burn nor stick to the pan and are uniformly browned.
    Add ginger garlic green chili paste mix well and saute for a few seconds till their raw aroma goes away.
    Add tomatoes, mix well and saute for 2 to 3 minutes on a low to medium-low flame.
    Lower the gas to the lowest flame setting and add all the chopped vegetables mix well and saute again for 2 minutes.
    Add rice mix well and saute gently for 2 minutes so that the rice gets well coated with the oil.
    Add water lemon juice mix well and stir.
    Check for seasoning and spices and add more if required.
    Cooking Veg Pulao
    Lower the gas to the lowest flame setting, cover the lid and let the rice cook till the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked well completely.
    In between keep checking if the water is enough so that the pulao does not burn nor stick to the pan. If required add more water.
    Keep stirring rice gently without breaking the rice grains.
    Once the rice is completely cooked and fluffy let the rice stand for 5 minutes.
    Serve pulao hot with some side salad, sliced onion & lemon wedges or raita.
    Optionally you can also garnish it with chopped coriander or mint leaves or fried cashews or fried onions.
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