Easy Veg Pulao | Easy Pressure Cooker Vegetable Pulav

Hello folks, how are you all? Pooja celebrations are done and now you all must be gearing up for Diwali, right? In between this Pooja and Deepavali, we celebrated our DD's first birthday :) :) It was a small cake cutting function followed by dinner with our friends from around. I didn't prepare anything special for him except semiya payasam as he was down with fever and I didn't get the time nor had the mind to :(  I wanted to make muffins, that was in my mind, but maybe sometime later. However, anything fancy I make, he will not be able to relish or enjoy, as he is too small to understand that, right? So I have decided to make them according to his preference for his second birthday. Hopefully, he might be making a list then :) 

So coming to today's recipe, it's a simple veg pulao and can be made in a jiffy, especially if you are craving for some biriyani and do not have the time :) But this is very much subtle compared to biriyani as we do not use red chilly powder or any garam masala powders. The hotness for this one pot meal comes entirely from the ginger and garlic used. You can pair it up with raita and pappad, would taste just right and can be termed as the perfect comfort meal. I had them with oven fried cauli-flower, vinegared onions & pappad. 

Other rice recipes:

Ambur Mutton Biriyani
Capsicum Rice
Coconut Milk Rice | Thengai Paal Sadam
Nei Choru | Ghee Rice
Vegetable Biriyani

  

Recipe Source: Ma

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serves : 2 persons

I Used:

Oil+Ghee	-	3+2 tbsp
Cinnamon	-	An inch piece
Cloves	-	2 nos
Bay leaf	-	1 no
Onion	-	3 nos - medium sized -sliced
Carrot	-	1 no - medium sized - chopped
Potato	-	1 no - medium sized - chopped
Green Peas	-	½ cup
Coriander leaves	-	¼ cup - chopped
Mint leaves	-	¼ cup - chopped
Basmati Rice	-	1 cup
Water	-	2.5 cups
Salt	-	As needed

To Grind:

Garlic - 8-9 pods (big sized) Ginger - 2-3 inch piece Fennel / Perunjeerakam/ Sombu - ½ tsp Green Chilly - 2-4 nos

The Way:

1. Grind the ingredients under 'To Grind' by adding a little water to a smooth paste. Preferably grind the green chillies to the end

2. De-skin the vegetables and onion and rinse them well. Then slice & chop them as required. If using frozen peas, keep them immersed in water for 10 minutes & rinse them and keep aside

3. Soak the basmati rice in water for about 10-15 minutes

4. In a pressure cooker, heat oil/ghee. Add the whole spices (cinnamon, cloves & bay leaf)

5. Add the sliced onions and salt. Saute well till they become translucent. It took around 4-5 minutes for me 

6. Add the chopped veggies (carrot & potato) and green peas. Give a nice stir

7. Now add the ground paste and saute well till the raw smell goes. This may take about 3-4 minutes

8. Add the chopped coriander and mint leaves. Give a nice stir

9. To this add the soaked basmati rice and give a stir so that all the grains are coated well with the oil & masala

10. Now add water and stir softly. Check for salt and add if required

11. Pressure cook till the rice is cooked. I kept for 1 whistle in high and 2 in simmer and it was done

Notes:

• You can add any veggies of your choice, can include beans, mushrooms, capsicums etc

• Do not compromise on the onions. If your onions are smaller in size, use more number. They give the pulav the flavour and taste

• While serving you can garnish with caramelised onions & fried cashews as well. They add a rich flavor and aroma to the pulao

• You can add half ghee-half oil or full ghee or full oil. Totally depends on you diet plan :)

• Rice: Water ratio is 1:2 here. I added extra 0.5 cup for the veggies. If you want you can make that 0.25 cup as well. The rice:water ratio works different for different variety of rice. So adjust the quantity of water according to the rice you use

Cheers,

Chitz