Veg Pulao Recipe (Mix Vegetable Pulav)
User Reviews
4.9
-
Prep Time
15 mins
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Cook Time
15 mins
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Total Time
40 mins
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Servings
4
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Calories
429 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Indian
Veg Pulao Recipe (Mix Vegetable Pulav)
Trying to get more vegetables in your diet? Try this vegetarian one pot meal of Pulao or Pulav made with basmati rice, mixed veggies, spices and herbs. Use the vegetables that you like most, like peas, potatoes, and green beans. Make this simple Veg Pulao recipe that packs a punch of flavor!
Ingredients
For soaking rice
- 1.5 cups basmati rice - 300 grams, rinsed & soaked for 20 to 30 minutes
- water - as required for soaking
Vegetables
- ½ to ¾ cup cauliflower - chopped
- ½ to ¾ cup potatoes - chopped
- ¼ cup carrots - chopped
- ⅓ cup green peas - fresh or frozen
- ¼ cup green beans (french beans) - chopped
- ¼ cup green bell pepper (capsicum) - chopped, optional
- ¼ cup baby corn - sliced or chopped, optional
Other ingredients
- 3 tablespoons ghee or oil
- 1 cup thinly sliced onions or 1 large onion, sliced
- ½ cup 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 garlic cloves (small to medium sized) - crushed to a paste in a mortar-pestle
- 1 to 2 green chillies or 1 teaspoon chopped green chili pepper - crushed to a paste in a mortar-pestle
- 3 tablespoons Coriander leaves (cilantro) - chopped
- 2 tablespoons mint leaves - chopped, optional
- ¼ teaspoon lemon juice - optional
- 2.5 to 3 cups water or vegetable stock *check notes below for details. I added 3 cups of water
- salt as required
Whole spices
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds or 1 teaspoon caraway seeds (shahi jeera)
- 5 to 6 whole black pepper - optional
- 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
- 4 cloves
- 3 to 4 green cardamoms
- 1 black cardamom - optional
- 1 small piece of mace - optional
- 1 small-sized star anise - optional
- 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
Instructions
Preparation
- Rinse rice till the water runs clear of starch and become transparent while rinsing.
- Soak the rice in enough water for 20 to 30 minutes. Drain all the water and keep the soaked rice aside.
- Rinse, peel and chop the vegetables.
- Crush chopped ginger, garlic and green chillies to a paste in a mortar-pestle or grind them in a small mixer or grinder with a bit of water.
Frying spices and sautéing onions
- In a deep thick bottomed pot or pan, heat ghee or oil and fry all the whole spices mentioned above, till the oil becomes fragrant and the spices splutter.
- Add the onions and saute them till golden. Saute the onions on a low to medium-low heat and stir often for even browning.
- Add the ginger-garlic-green chili paste and saute for some seconds till their raw aroma goes away.
- Add the tomatoes and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes on a low to medium-low heat.
- Add all the chopped veggies, green peas and sauté again for 1 to 2 minutes on a low to medium-low heat.
- Add rice and sauté gently for 1 to 2 minutes on a low or medium-low heat, so that the rice gets well coated with the oil.
- Add water and lemon juice. Mix and stir.
- Season with salt and stir again.
Making Vegetable Pulao
- Cover tightly and let the rice cook on a low heat, till the water is absorbed and the rice is well cooked.
- Check in between a few times to check if the water is enough. Depending on the quality of rice, you may need to add less or more water. With a fork too, you can gently stir the rice without breaking the rice grains.
- Once the rice grains are cooked, fluff and let the rice stand for 5 minutes.
- Serve pulao hot with some side salad, sliced onion and lemon wedges or raita. You can also garnish it with chopped coriander or mint leaves or fried cashews or fried onions.
Notes
- Type and quality of rice: Pulao is always made with Basmati rice. The basmati rice should be fragrant and long-grained to get good results. Aged basmati rice will give you the best results. Even parboiled basmati rice (sella basmati) can be used. You can also use other types of long-grained rice and short-grained rice. These Indian rice varieties can be easily purchased from Amazon.
For separate rice grains: Follow these steps to ensure you have separate rice grains in your pulao:
Soak the rice: It is always better to soak your rice for 20 to 30 minutes before cooking. Soaking rice grains gives them a better texture when they are cooked. If you do not have time to soak them, then just rinse the rice before adding it. Note that if you only rinse the rice, you will need to add some more water as presoaked rice grains require less water for cooking as compared to rice grains which are not soaked. Add just enough water: Be sure that you do not add too much water, especially if you have presoaked your rice as recommended above. Sauté the rice: After adding the rice grains to your pan, sauté them for 1 to 2 minutes on a low to medium flame, so that they are coated with fat (oil or ghee). The rice grains have to be separate & and yet well cooked in a pulao or biryani. Adding lemon juice also helps make the rice grains fluffier. Rice to water ratio: For most rice varieties, the rice to water ratio is generally 1:2. However, this ratio can vary depending on the particular type of rice used or the cooking method used:
Example 1– organic basmati rice requires more water while cooking and parboiled basmati rice will need more water as compared to regular basmati rice. For this reason, I recommend when cooking pulao, to use rice which you have cooked before. This way you will already know how much water to add. Example 2– when cooking pulao in a pressure cooker, generally less water is added. The steam generated in the cooker helps in cooking the rice grains. However, the amount of water to be added will depend upon the size of the cooker. For example, in larger cookers, more water has to be added.
- Soak the rice: It is always better to soak your rice for 20 to 30 minutes before cooking. Soaking rice grains gives them a better texture when they are cooked. If you do not have time to soak them, then just rinse the rice before adding it. Note that if you only rinse the rice, you will need to add some more water as presoaked rice grains require less water for cooking as compared to rice grains which are not soaked.
- Add just enough water: Be sure that you do not add too much water, especially if you have presoaked your rice as recommended above.
- Sauté the rice: After adding the rice grains to your pan, sauté them for 1 to 2 minutes on a low to medium flame, so that they are coated with fat (oil or ghee). The rice grains have to be separate & and yet well cooked in a pulao or biryani. Adding lemon juice also helps make the rice grains fluffier.
Rice to water ratio: For most rice varieties, the rice to water ratio is generally 1:2. However, this ratio can vary depending on the particular type of rice used or the cooking method used:
Example 1– organic basmati rice requires more water while cooking and parboiled basmati rice will need more water as compared to regular basmati rice. For this reason, I recommend when cooking pulao, to use rice which you have cooked before. This way you will already know how much water to add. Example 2– when cooking pulao in a pressure cooker, generally less water is added. The steam generated in the cooker helps in cooking the rice grains. However, the amount of water to be added will depend upon the size of the cooker. For example, in larger cookers, more water has to be added.
- Example 1– organic basmati rice requires more water while cooking and parboiled basmati rice will need more water as compared to regular basmati rice. For this reason, I recommend when cooking pulao, to use rice which you have cooked before. This way you will already know how much water to add.
- Example 2– when cooking pulao in a pressure cooker, generally less water is added. The steam generated in the cooker helps in cooking the rice grains. However, the amount of water to be added will depend upon the size of the cooker. For example, in larger cookers, more water has to be added.
- Vegetables: You can add your favorite vegetables. Note that the vegetables add a lot of flavor to the rice. You can even add mushrooms to a give a meaty texture and umami flavor to the pulao. Button Mushrooms, morel mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms can be added.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 4Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 429 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 429kcal | 21% |
| Carbohydrates | 75g | 25% |
| Protein | 9g | 18% |
| Fat | 11g | 17% |
| Saturated Fat | 6g | 30% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 1g | 6% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 3g | 15% |
| Cholesterol | 25mg | 8% |
| Sodium | 68mg | 3% |
| Potassium | 501mg | 11% |
| Fiber | 6g | 24% |
| Sugar | 5g | 10% |
| Vitamin A | 1839IU | 37% |
| Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) | 1mg | |
| Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) | 1mg | |
| Vitamin B3 (Niacin) | 2mg | |
| Vitamin B6 | 1mg | |
| Vitamin C | 32mg | 36% |
| Vitamin E | 1mg | |
| Vitamin K | 11µg | |
| Calcium | 74mg | 7% |
| Vitamin B9 (Folate) | 46µg | |
| Iron | 3mg | 17% |
| Magnesium | 51mg | 13% |
| Phosphorus | 149mg | |
| Zinc | 1mg |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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