On lazy, leisurely weekends, one-pot meals are a singular delight for a person cooking a meal-for-one or cooking for the entire family. A freshly-made, warm and aromatic pulao is the weekend dream. It is easy to prepare, quick to cook and when served piping hot, becomes sheer comfort food on your day off.
Indian cuisine carries a large repository of flavoured rice or pulaos which are full of vibrant, spiced notes and aromatic touches. The classic pulao, made using whole spices and staple vegetables, is so full of subtle yet delicious spicy and umami profiles that it becomes sheer comfort food, particularly on a leisurely day. While a lot of elaborate recipes to make the pulao do exist – such as making pulaos infused with leafy greens like spinach or coriander or even the bright tang of tomatoes – a simple, straightforward pulao is just as interesting a dish to prepare, especially on a slow weekend.
Imagine a slow-moving, lazy Saturday where all you do is curl up with a good book and warm coffee. Taking a lunch break from this sublime routine becomes easy with a simple, one-pot pulao recipe that is quick to prepare and can be efficiently executed.
A fragrant one-pot pulao immersed in the robustness of spices like cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns and bay leaves is a sheer delight when
Read MoreHeat a heavy-bottomed kadai or pressure cooker and add ghee to it along with all the whole spices. Sauté until the spices start to release their aroma.
Add onions and cook until soft, followed by ginger-garlic paste and green chillies. Stir for a minute and then add the tomatoes.
Add all the mixed vegetables and peas next and cook for a couple of minutes until the veggies absorb the masalas.
Now, add the other condiments including turmeric, garam masala and salt. Next, stir in the rice and gently coat the grains with the masala.
Pour in two cups of water and adjust the salt if required.
If using a pressure cooker, cover it with the lid and let the rice cook on medium heat for 3-4 whistles. If using a heavy-bottomed kadai or pot, cover and cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes. Do not stir while the rice cooks.
Once cooked, allow the pressure or steam to release itself gradually. Stir the rice gently with a wooden spoon and garnish with coriander. Serve warm.
1 The finest way to prepare the one-pot pulao is in a pressure cooker so the rice softens and cooks uniformly. Make the pulao in the TTK Prestige Nakshatra Plus Svachh Hard Anodised Aluminium Spillage Control Handi Pressure Cooker, whose shape allows the pulao to bloom well while steaming.
2 For those cooking the pulao in a kadai, a heavy-bottomed, non-stick vessel works best as this prevents the rice grains from sticking to the bottom. The TTK Prestige Omega Select Plus Teflon Non-stick Coated Handi, which comes with a lid, can be a fine vessel to cook the rice undisturbed.
3 To chop the vegetables for the pulao rather finely, go for the TTK Prestige Electric Chopper, which can turn carrot chunks or capsicum slices into smaller, chopped versions, well-suited for the pulao.
4 For those who want to do away with the pressure cooker altogether, the one-pot rice can also be steamed in the rice cooker. Just add all the veggies and rice into a TTK Prestige Electric Rice Cooker which will turn the raw ingredients into an aromatic rice dish.
5 Adding ginger-garlic paste made fresh at home will lend a brighter and more aromatic flourish to the pulao. Grind ginger and garlic into a fine paste in the chutney jar of the TTK Prestige Iris Mixer Grinder to make this flavour-packed seasoning.
This can be the result of adding too much water, especially while cooking the rice in a kadai or handi. Add 1.5x water to every 1 portion rice, and avoid stirring the pulao as it cooks.
One way to resolve this is to steam the pulao once again, for about 5 minutes to cook the vegetables some more. Another hack is to boil carrots and peas slightly before adding them to the pulao itself, so they are semi-softened already and cook perfectly as the rice steams.
Soaking the basmati rice ensures that once the pulao is cooked, it becomes fluffy and soft. Moreover, soaked rice also tends to remain whole so that the long-grain basmati retains its form without turning into mush or breaking into smaller pieces.
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