Veg pulao is one of my favorite rice dishes to make. I love this particular recipe because it contains a mixture of vegetables, whole spices, fried cashew nuts and raisins. Every bite is slightly different. I love how the gentle sweetness of the raisins balances against the heat of the green chilies. This is a great dish to add to your family lunch or dinner if you want to add something extra special to the menu.
Recipe Highlights:
- This is an amazing one pot, flavourful recipe that uses basmati rice and vegetables.
- To make this tasty, use some fragrant basmati rice, cook your spices and onions in a pan, and include an assortment of vegetables.
- The perfect side dishes to serve with this are raita, pickles, papadums and salads.
- This is a nicely balanced dish. It has just the right amount of spice and is very fragrant thanks to the basmati rice. The vegetables also add a touch of sweetness.
- This dish takes me 15 minutes to prepare, 20 minutes to rest the soaked rice and 15 minutes to cook.
- Other options you could try are biryani, fried rice, lemon rice, tomato rice and jeera rice.
The Ingredients:
- Rice – 2 cups (Basmati rice is a preferred option)
- Cauliflower florets – 1 tbsp
- Green peas – 1 tbsp
- Carrot – 1 piece (cut into small cubes)
- Beans – 1 tbsp (slit along the middle)
- Potato – 1 piece (large size, cut into small cubes)
- Onion – 1 piece (cut into medium pieces)
- Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tbsp
- Dry red chilies – 3 pieces (whole)
- Bay leaves – 3 pieces
- Cinnamon – 4 sticks (1 inch size each)
- Green Cardamom – 6 pieces
- Cloves – 5 pieces
- Cumin – 1.5 tbsp
- Cashew nuts – 1 tsp
- Raisins – ½ tsp
- green chilies – 8 pieces (whole)
- Ghee (clarified butter) – 3 tbsp
- White oil – 1 tbsp
- Sugar – ½ tbsp
- Salt to taste
- Water – 3 cups
How to Cook Veg Pulao (Step by Step Images)?
1. Soak the rice in water. Keep it aside for 20 minutes.
2. Put a pressure cooker on the gas stove and heat on a medium to high flame.
3. Pour 3 tbsp of ghee and 1 tbsp of white oil.
4. Add the cashew nuts and the raisins.
5. Stir for a few minutes.
6. Take them out of the cooker.
7. Sauté the whole spices in the pressure cooker.
(Pro Tip: I prefer adding the whole spices to a moderately hot ghee and oil mix so their aroma develops without scorching them.)
8. Add the onions. Fry them till they are light brown.n.
9. Add the green chilies.
10. Add the ginger-garlic paste.
11. Give all the ingredients a good stir.
12. Add all the vegetables but add the potato cubes a couple of minutes later.
13. Add salt to taste and stir well. Regular stirring is enough.
14. Cook for 10 minutes on a medium flame.
15. Add the already soaked rice. Mix the rice gently with all the ingredients.
16. Put the lid on the pressure cooker.
17. Open after a few minutes. Add 3 cups of water. Turn the flame to low.
18. Add ½ tbsp of sugar.
19. Add more salt if required. Sprinkle the raisins and the cashew nuts.
20. Pressure cook the rice and other ingredients for up to 1 whistle.
(Pro Tip: Do not wait for a second whistle, as the rice can turn mushy under continued pressure.)
21. Allow the steam to release from the cooker and then open the lid.
22. Veg Pulao is ready.
Different Ways to Make It
- I often replace 1 teaspoon of fried cashew nuts with 1 tablespoon of them for my kids who love to have a nuttier pulao.
- I cook this dish entirely in ghee instead of a ghee and oil mixture. This gives an additional richness to my dish.
- Sometimes I chop the green chilies in half lengthways and add them to the onions so that they are extra spicy.
Veg Pulao Recipe Common Mistakes & Solutions
Q: Why are my potato cubes uncooked?
A: Dice your potatoes smaller and of the same size to cook properly.
Q: Why do my cashew nuts become very dark in step 4?
A: Take them out when lightly golden. If left in the hot ghee, they can burn and go bitter.
Q: The flavor of the spices does not come out well. Why?
A: Make sure you do not rush frying the spices and mix the cumin well with the cooked vegetables before adding the rice. This will stop any dense flavors of spices in your dish.
Q: What do I do if my pulao is too spicy?
A: You can either cut down the green chilies or add some sugar in step 19.
Q: My rice is not cooking properly after step 20. Any fix?
A: Soak the rice for a bit longer and allow a minute or two more in step 17.
Q: My raisins do not have a good texture. What is wrong?
A: Add the raisins a little later than the cashew nuts. This will fry them briefly and allow them to hold their texture till the end.
Recipe Card
Veg Pulao
Ingredients
- Rice – 2 cups Basmati rice is a preferred option
- Cauliflower florets - 1 tbsp
- Green peas - 1 tbsp
- Carrot - 1 piece cut into small cubes
- Beans - 1 tbsp slit along the middle
- Potato - 1 piece large size, cut into small cubes
- Onion - 1 piece cut into medium pieces
- Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp
- Dry red chilies – 3 pieces whole
- Bay leaves – 3 pieces
- Cinnamon – 4 sticks 1 inch size each
- Green Cardamom – 6 pieces
- Cloves – 5 pieces
- Cumin – 1.5 tbsp
- Cashew nuts - 1 tsp
- Raisins – ½ tsp
- green chilies – 8 pieces whole
- Ghee clarified butter - 3 tbsp
- White oil – 1 tbsp
- Sugar – ½ tbsp
- Salt to taste
- Water – 3 cups
Instructions
- Soak the rice in water. Keep it aside for 20 minutes.
- Put a pressure cooker on the gas stove and heat on a medium to high flame.
- Pour 3 tbsp of ghee and 1 tbsp of white oil.
- Add the cashew nuts and the raisins.
- Stir for a few minutes.
- Take them out of the cooker.
- Sauté the whole spices in the pressure cooker. (Pro Tip: I prefer adding the whole spices to a moderately hot ghee and oil mix so their aroma develops without scorching them.)
- Add the onions. Fry them till they are light brown.
- Add the green chilies.
- Add the ginger-garlic paste.
- Give all the ingredients a good stir.
- Add all the vegetables but add the potato cubes a couple of minutes later.
- Add salt to taste and stir well. Regular stirring is enough.
- Cook for 10 minutes on a medium flame.
- Add the already soaked rice. Mix the rice gently with all the ingredients.
- Put the lid on the pressure cooker.
- Open the lid after a few minutes. Add 3 cups of water. Turn the flame to low.
- Add ½ tbsp of sugar.
- Add more salt if required. Sprinkle the raisins and the cashew nuts.
- Pressure cook the rice and other ingredients for up to 1 whistle.(Pro Tip: Do not wait for a second whistle, as the rice can turn mushy under continued pressure.)
- Allow the steam to release from the cooker and then open the lid.
- Veg Pulao is ready.
