Name: Vegetable pulao (veg pulao without onion and garlic)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 cup Basmati rice; 2 cups water; 1/2 cup mixed vegetables (fresh/frozen) (carrots, beans, sweet corn, peas); 2-3 fresh chillies (slit); 1 tsp black cumin seeds (shahi jeera); 2 star anise; 1 cinnamon sticks; 2-3 cloves; 2-3 cardamom; 1 tbsp black peppercorns; 2 bay leaves; 2 dried red chilli; 1 tsp garam masala powder; 2-3 tbsp cashews; 2-3 tbsp raisins; 2 tbsp ghee; salt

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A yummy, quick, easy and absolutely festive vegetable pulao rice recipe that pairs deliciously with your dals and curries

There really isn’t a festival or occasion in my home when I don’t have this amazing vegetable pulao on the menu. My pulao recipe is a simple one and still loaded with taste. It’s ingredients like basmati rice, whole spices, ghee and dry fruits make it absolutely festive. On the other hand, it’s simple flavor profile makes it amazing to pair with dals and curries of your choice. Since, my veg pulao doesn’t have onions and garlic in it, you can make it on festivals when you do not include them in your cooking. One quick and easy recipe and you will have a main course item ready for any occasion at hand. Therefore, you must make sure to bookmark this and try it real soon.

I normally use mixed frozen vegetables like carrots, beans, sweet corn and peas in the recipe. But feel free to add any that you like in your veg pulao rice. For example potatoes, cauliflower, baby corn bits and even paneer can be added to this pulao. Now, when it comes to whole spices, I love adding quite a few to pack maximum taste in this simple recipe. My regular spices in it are cinnamon, green cardamom, star anise, black cumin seeds, cloves, black peppercorns and bay leaves. All these sautéed in ghee create a magical aroma that becomes the main flavor component of this rice recipe.

Secret to a fluffy pulao

Once you have your ingredients set, you need to make sure that you cook your rice with the right quantity of water and in the correct way. This will ensure that you get a non-sticky, fluffy vegetable pulao to serve – the dream! Here are some tips that work for me and could help you as well.

When using Basmati rice, wash it three to four times, until the water runs clear. Thereafter, keep it soaked in water for about 10-15 minutes only, not more
When cooking the rice, keep the rice to water ratio to 1:2 always. Make sure you use the same cup to measure both to keep error to a minimum
Once you have added the water, cook the rice on high flame until the water from the surface evaporates. After that, cover the cooking pot with a lid and continue cooking on low flame for seven minutes. I normally set a timer to keep a track of time when making rice recipes like this one
When done, turn the flame off, take the lid off and fluff the pulao rice using a fork – work your way around from the edges while doing so. Immediately (and gently) remove the pulao in a serving bowl. These step stops the cooking process of the rice preventing it from clumping together or overcooking

Serving suggestions

Like I mentioned earlier, you can serve up any side dish of your choice with this vegetable pulao from chicken curries, mutton kormas, paneer makhanwala to a humble dal. If you want to keep things simple, even a bowl of raita is good enough with is delicious and fragrant veg pulao. I hope that you will give this recipe a try sometime and will love it as much as my family and I do. And if you do, I’d love to hear your feedback and see your pulao pictures. You can share them with me on Instagram and Pinterest.

Eat hearty!