My Favorite: Special Vegetable Pulao — A Sunday Surprise

Greetings,
Sundays at my place are never complete without a special meal, and most of the time, it’s chicken or mutton pulao. However, this time, I wanted to do a bit of a twist on it. Hence, I decided to prepare vegetable pulao with seasonal fresh winter greens. Frankly, I didn’t know how my family was going to react, but the outcome surprised everyone!

Ingredients I Used
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For this tasty and aromatic pulao, I took:

250 g golden sela rice (soaked for 20 minutes)

1 onion (chopped)

2 tomato (chopped)

A mix of vegetables – potatoes, peas, and cauliflower

3 green chili

1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)

1tsp fennel seeds (saunf)

Whole spices – black pepper, cinnamon, bay leaf, cloves, and black cardamom

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp red chili powder

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

2 tbsp oil

Salt to taste

A pinch of orange food color

A few drops of kewra water (for fragrance)

Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing

How I Made It
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Preparing the Masala
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First I heated a little oil in a pan and added the jeera and whole spices showing a hole. The aroma of them frying made its way through the kitchen the moment they hit the pan. I then tossed in some chopped onions and fried them till golden. Then, I stirred in the ginger-garlic paste and sautéed it for a minute.

After the onions were done, chopped tomatoes, green chilli were added and cooked till soft. Next, I added some red chili powder, coriander powder and salt and mixed it all together.

Cooking the Vegetables
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I added the potatoes, peas, and cauliflower to the masala and let them cook until they were about 80% done—soft but not mushy.

Boiling the Rice Separately
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While the vegetables were cooking, I boiled the water in another pan. So, when the water starts boiling, add 1 tsp of salt, then add the rice and let it cook. Once it's 90% done, Then, I drained the water.

Layering and Dum Cooking

I spread the semi-cooked rice over the vegetables, sprinkled food color, garam masala, kewra water, and fresh coriander on top, and then covered the pan. I let it cook on low flame for 10-12 minutes so all the flavors could blend perfectly.

The Final Touch
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Once done, I turned off the flame and let the pulao sit for 5 minutes before fluffing it up with a fork. The smell was just amazing!

Tomatoes chatni
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Blend together tomatoes, coriander, garlic, salt, and cumin to make a smooth puree, and your tomato chutney is ready!

A Surprise That Nobody Could Hate
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When I added chatni (sauce) and pickle to the vegetable pulao and served it to my family, they were shocked. They're used to chicken or mutton pulao but enjoyed this veggie take just as much! It was light, tasty and great for a lazy Sunday meal.

This made me understand that veg food can taste as good and be as exciting as any non veg food. And, sometimes, something out of the ordinary can change everything!

So, will you try this vegetable pulao at home? Let me know how it turns out!

I want you to be like my vegetable pulav.