Carrots and Peas Pulao is an uber-delicious one-pot rice recipe. This pulao is best when paired with Gujarati Kadhi and Bateta ni Suki Bhaji. This rice recipe is delicately seasoned with whole spices and salt. A soulful meal indeed, and if you haven't tried it yet. You must!
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My Memories of Eating Kadhi Pulao
I have vivid memories of eating this soulful meal during winter. Growing up in India, you know you get fresh vibrant vegetables in abundance! Carrots and Peas being very popular during this time of the year, mom would often whip up this meal for lunch! She has always paired this pulao with Gujarati Kadhi, or her famous tomato soup!
Pulao was always a happy meal at home. I grew up in a joint family, and literally all 10 of us enjoyed this meal! Imagine feeding 10 people 3 meals every day, and then you nail a rustic meal that everyone loves. So yes, I not only eat this meal very fondly, but I love making it.
What is Pulao?
If you don't know what pulao is, you might know it more famously by the name of Pilaf. Pilaf is a Mediterranean rice dish, and India has beautifully adapted their version of the rice dish and made some spectacular versions of their own.
Pulao is a one-pot rice dish made with Basmati Rice, seasoned with whole and ground spices, with vegetables and different proteins. There are both vegetarian and nonvegetarian versions of this recipe prepared in India.
The major difference between Pulao and Biryani is that Rice is cooked with a choice of vegetables and proteins along with seasoning in one pot. While, for Biryani the rice is cooked separately and then later added to the prepared Masala Base.
Ingredients to Make Carrot and Peas Pulao
The Ingredients to Make this recipe are pantry staple, and the recipe is very easy to make.
- Basmati Rice - Pulao is famous for its beautifully long-grained fluffy rice. And to make a perfect pulao, you will need Long Grained Basmati Rice!
- Water - Water is used to soak the rice for about 15-20 mins, and then we will be using it to cook the rice. You can use vegetable broth instead of water to cook the rice if you wish to.
- Ghee - Ghee adds a beautiful nutty flavor to the rice, so I prefer using ghee. But if you want to make this dish vegan, you can use groundnut oil or coconut oil.
- Whole Spices - The only way we season our pulao is with these beautiful whole spices. They infuse their rustic flavors beautifully in the rice. Cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, black cardamon, cloves, star anise, and cumin seeds are the whole spices we will be using to make this recipe.
- Carrots and Green Peas - This rice recipe is a very warm and hearty recipe. Carrots and green peas are available in abundance during winter and they taste so delicious when paired together!
- Salt - Because there is no other ingredient that ties all the flavors together! Isn't it?
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Expert Tips to Make the Perfect Pulao
- Ensure that the rice is fluffy. That makes for a great pulao. The quality of rice matters a lot to make any pulao perfectly. I prefer to use long-grained Basmati Rice. While you can also use other varieties of rice, the rice-to-water ratio may be different depending on the quality of rice.
- To make perfect pulao, the rice-to-water ratio is very important. For 1 cup of rice, I use 2 cups of Water, following the 1:2 ratio. I also prefer to use a 2:1 ratio of rice to vegetables in this recipe. It works perfectly.
- Sautรฉ the rice until fragrant before adding the water. This helps the rice getting infused with all the flavors and oils released from the whole spices.
- Add hot water to cook the rice, so we maintain the temperature of cooking the pulao.
Carrot and Peas Pulao
These nutrional values are automatically generated. Use them for estimation only.
Equipment
- 1 Heavy Bottom Pot
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Basmati Rice
- 2 Cups Water For Soaking the Rice
- 2 Tbsp Ghee Use Oil to Make it Vegan
- 1 Large Cinnamon Stick
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 Star Anise
- 1 Black Cardamom
- 4 Cloves
- 1.5 Teaspoons Cumin Seeds
- ยฝ Cup Carrots Chopped
- ยฝ Cup Peas Fresh/ Frozen
- 1.5 Teaspoons Salt
- 4 Cups Hot Water To Cook the Rice
Instructions
- Wash the Basmati Rice until the water runs is clear. You will have to wash the rice atleast 3 times.
- Soak the rice, for 15 -20 minutes.
- Now in a heavy bottom pot, on a medium low flame, add ghee. One hot, add cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves, star anise, bay leaves and black cardamom.
- Now when the cumin seeds start to splutter, add fresh/ frozen peas and carrots.
- In a kettle, add 4 cups (1 liter) of water and heat it up.
- Drain the soaked rice, and add it to the pot. Add salt. Roast the rice for a minute, until you start to smell it's nutty aroma.
- Now add the hot water to the rice.
- Mix and let it cook on high flame for 10 minutes. Don't cover the pot. Leave it open
- For the last 5 minutes, cook the rice with the lid on a low flame.
- You will have the fluffiest pulao, when you exactly cook the rice this way!
- Turn off the stove, and fluff the rice gently with a fork.
Notes
- Cook the rice as instructed in the recipe. Soaking rice is important. If you are short on time, let it at least soak for 5-10 minutes.ย
- If you don't have black cardamom skip it.ย
- You can also add fried paneer to the pulao, during the last 5 minutes of cooking.ย
- For every 2 cups of Basmati Rice, you can use 1 Cup of Vegetables. You can add other vegetables like potato, cauliflower, bell peppers, etc.ย
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