vegetable pulav
Everybody has their own version of making pulavs and their own favourites. This is my mother’s version and also the best I like. My sister and I have named it as Ammale Pulav (meaning Amma’s pulav :) This is a rather elaborate way of making pulav and hence will turn out best when you have ample time and are in the mood for it. Today was one of those days for me.
This pulav also has also a very generous proportion of vegetables. It is made in 3 stages: masala, vegetables and the rice.
Ingredients
- Rice - 3 cups
- Onions - 2 medium sized
- Mixed vegetables (Beans, carrot, peas, potato) - 2.5 cups cups
- Green chillies - 4 to 5
- Corainder leaves - a generous portion
- Garlic pods - 10 to 12
- Ginger - half inch
- Pepper - half teaspoon
- Fennel seeds - half teaspoon
- Cloves - half teaspoon
- Cinnamon stick - a small one
- Cardamom - 1
- Ghee / Butter
- Oil
- Turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
Method
- Wash the rice, drain the water and set it aside.
- Cut all the vegetables into about a inch long pieces (depending on your liking) and set them aside separately.
- Cut the onions into thin long pieces and set it aside.
- Grind all the masala items with a few pieces of onions into a smooth paste. It will look like green chutney and smell yummy. Fry this paste with a little oil for a few minutes till the raw smell goes.
- To cook the rice, heat some ghee in a cooker and add 2 cloves and a small piece of cinnammon. Add the washed rice, turmeric and salt and fry it for a few minutes. Add sufficient quantity of water and pressure cook the rice.
- The vegetables can be cooked in 2 ways: Either cook by stir frying them with a little oil or first steam them and then fry for a few minutes. The second method will take less time. I boil the vegetables with some salt in water in the following order: beans, potatoes, carrots and lastly peas with some time interval between each vegetable, as beans takes the maximum time to cook and peas the least. After cooking the vegetables, drain them and set aside. Remember that the vegeatbles must not become very soft, else they lose the taste and the whole purpose of cooking them separately is lost.
- Now in a wide bottomed kadai, take some oil and fry the onons till they become transparent. Now add the vegetables and fry for a few more minutes. (My mother does not boil the vegetables. ….. she cooks them at this stage by frying with the onions on a very low flame till all the vegetables are cooked)
- Now add the masala to these vegetables, salt to taste and fry for a few more minutes. Now turn off the flame.
- Finally mix the rice to these vegetables, add some ghee and cover the container for 10-15 minutes so that it blends well. You can utilise this time to make salad/raita.
Serve this pulav with raita and enjoy your sumptuous meal.
Preparation time: 90 minutes