Pea pulao is my absolute favourite, its perfect for times when you are lazy to cook or when you just need to whip up a meal using pantry or frozen items. Its yummy on its own just with mint yoghurt and goes perfectly well with any gravy. Its vegan and gluten free, that makes this dish a complete winner.
Jump to RecipeHow To Make Pea Pulao
The ingredients required are very minimum
- Rice – Preferably basmati, you can choose any of your choice. Basmati rice is considered to be premium quality rice for its flavour and aroma. It takes less water. As a rule of thumb it is 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice, but good quality basmati only takes 1 1/2 cup or even slightly less.
- Spices – the spices are very basic and are used mainly to flavour the rice. Cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves, pepper corns and black cardamom. Red chilli powder and turmeric is optional.
- Peas – there is no fixed ratio of peas to rice. Add as much peas as you like. Some people prefer just little bit of peas in their pulao, while some like loads of them.
Variations:
You can use this recipe as a base and add vegetables of your choice. Add potatoes with peas or even carrots. Add whole green chilli if you like bit of spice. Cauliflower, capsicum and broccoli is nice too.
Tips For Perfect Rice
- Measure measure measure !!! while i usually use estimates in cooking rice is one thing where i don’t. Its very important to measure your rice and water correctly. It can make or break your dish.
- Soaking the rice is vital. It removes excess starch and helps rice to cook better.
- If in doubt how much water is required for your rice, always add little in the beginning. If in the end the rice seems to be under cooked you can always add little more.
- Don’t stir the rice ! once you add the rice just gently stir it once that’s all. You don’t need to stir constantly, it breaks the rice.
- Once you put the lid on for the last step of cooking, don’t lift of the lid for good 10- 15 minutes, the steam in the pot helps cook the rice.
What to serve with Pea Pulao ?
Pea Pulao can be served on its own with just mint yoghurt. It goes well with all curries vegetarian or meat.
Try it with Aloo Gosht ( Meat with Potatoe Curry) Chicken Korma
Other Rice Dishes to Try
Pea Pulao
Rice pilaf with peas with aromatic spices. Step by Step Guide.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Basmati Rice
- 1 Onion Sliced
- 1 cup peas
- 1 tsp cumin
- 3-4 Cloves
- 7-8 Black Peppercorns
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 1 tsp Red Chilli powder optional
- 1½ tsp Salt
- ¼ cup cooking oil
- 3 cups Water
Instructions
- Wash and rinse rice until water runs clear and soak for min 15 mins
- Heat oil in the pan and fry onions until golden brown.
- Add all the spices and peas, fry for couple of minutes.
- Add 1/4 cup of water and cover for 5 minutes.
- Add 1½ cup of water and cook until boiling. (See notes)
- Drain water from rice and add them.
- Cook until water is evaporated and around only 1/4 of liquid is left.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 10 minutes.
Notes
- Usually 1 cup of rice requires 2 cups of water. Basmati rice take bit less water. Add 1 1/2 cup first. If in the end rice still seem to be not done add little bit more. Its better to add additional water later rather than adding all at once causing rice to be gluggy and sticky.
