Take simple white rice up a notch with peas, potatoes and flavorful whole warm spices!
Rice is served at almost every meal in most Asian homes. In Western cuisine, plain white or brown rice is a common side dish. It is a staple! However plain rice can be bland and get boring. Take plain white rice up a notch with a few simple flavorful additions.
Pulao is a generic term used for any rice dish that has added flavors and ingredients, thus there are many different kinds of Pulao. The everyday white rice can become worthy of entertaining with just a few additions. Pulao is commonly served at dinner parties. In this basic pulao recipe, peas, potatoes and a few whole aromatic warm spices takes simple white rice to a whole new level! A plain white rice which was once a side dish can now become the star of a complete meal, a one pot meal. It can be eaten by itself with pickles and yogurt. This is a great way to include a vegetables for picky children who eat only rice.
The addition of whole warm spices like cinnamon, black pepper, cloves and cumin gives a distinct flavor! You can decipher the taste of each of the spices individually in the rice. There are many kinds of rice available in the market, for this dish Basmati is the preferred.
The trick to making rice is the amount of water used depending on the final end consistency desired. In some dishes like Khichri, more water is used to overcook the rich to a mashy stage. While in pulao and biryani, the long separate grains of rice are a sign of a great cook! A little too much water and rice can became a lumpy mush. A grandmothers tip: dip index finger in the pot and the water should be one segment of the finger (approximately 1″) from the rice to the top . While that works for experienced cooks, here I have provided exact water to rice measurement so no guessing is required. Try this recipe and make weeknight dinner special.
Makes 3-4 servings (when served with other dishes)
Time: 30 mins to soak rice, 25 mins to cook
Ingredients:
- 1 cup rice (Basmati long grain), wash and soak in water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4-6 whole black peppercorns
- 2 whole cloves
- 2 pods of green cardamoms, break open. Or can use 1 large black elcho
- 1 tsb of whole cumin seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp of ghee, butter or oil
- 1/2 tsp salt (depends if broth is salted)
- 1/2 cup of green peas (frozen is perfectly fine to use)
- 1/2 cup potatoes, diced 1″ pieces
- 1/4 cup of small diced onion
- 1 small diced garlic clove
- 2 2/3 cups of water or broth (chicken, veg or beef)
Method:
- Wash and rinse the rice 4-5 times till the white cloudy water is gone. Soak for 30 mins.
- In a pot on medium heat, add ghee, whole spices, bay leaf till you smell the spices (~1 min)
- Add onion and garlic, stir fry till lightly brown. (~4 mins)
- Add green peas, potatoes, rice, salt and water. Gently stir once. If the broth contains salt, adjust the amount of added salt needed.
- Lower heat to medium low, cover and cook for 20 mins till the rice and potatoes are fully cooked and water is completely absorbed. Do not stir in between as it breaks the rice grains.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
Tips:
- You can add a whole fresh green slit in half or diced if you like it spicy.
- Highly recommend using ghee or butter for this recipe, it really adds great flavor to the dish which cannot be achieved with oil.
- Add more chopped mixed vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli and carrots, green beans to make it a complete one pot meal, perfect for office and school lunchboxes.
- To make rice fluffy and each grain separate, you MUST wash and rinse the rice 4-5 times. All the white cloudy water is the starch which makes the rice sticky and mushy. For this dish, we don’t need the starch.
- Using broth instead of plain water is a great trick to bring another level of flavor. You can add 2 bouillons flavor cube (vegetable, chicken or beef) and water or broth whichever is available. Be sure to mix the cube in hot water first till it breaks apart and dissolves before adding to the rice.