One Pot Vegetable Biryani Pulao Recipe
This vegetable biryani pulao recipe takes two Indian classics, the flavorful biryani and the light & easy veg pulao, and merges them into one incredible dish! But forget mushy rice – I'm sharing all my secrets to achieving perfectly cooked grains, fluffy and separate, every single time. This one-pot wonder is a healthy enthusiast's dream – packed with delicious veggies and bursting with flavor, but without the heaviness.
Author: Sheeba
Ingredients
- 1 cup Basmathi rice
- 1 teaspoon ghee or melted butter
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Whole spices
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 star anise
- 2 cloves
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 2 pods cardamom
- 1 pod black cardamom
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- a few strands saffron
Ground spices
- 1 teaspoon chili powder or cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
Vegetables
- ¼ cup diced carrot
- ¼ cup chopped beans
- ¼ cup cauliflower florets
- ¼ cup green peas
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 green chilies, slit horizontally
- 1 tomato, finely diced
- 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
Others
- ½ cup yogurt
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1¾ cup hot water
- ½ bunch mint leaves (¼ cup packed) with stems
- ½ bunch coriander leaves (¼ cup packed) with stems
To serve
- 1 cup onion or cucumber raitha
STEP BY STEP IMAGES
Scroll back to find detailed recipe photos!
Instructions
Soak
- Rinse 1 cup Basmathi rice and let it soak in water for 20 minutes. Heat 1 tablespoon milk in a small bowl and add a few strands saffron to 1 tablespoon milkt. Let it soak.
Sauté
- Heat 1 teaspoon ghee or melted butter and 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large pot.
- Drop in whole spices: 2 bay leaves, 1 star anise, 2 cloves, 1 inch cinnamon stick, 2 pods cardamom and 1 pod black cardamom.Roast the spices on low heat for a couple of minutes.
- Add 1 teaspoon fennel seeds. Roast for a minute.
- Stir in 1 onion, finely diced and 2 green chilies, slit horizontally. Sauté on medium heat.
- Once the onions turn translucent, add 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste. Stir for a couple of minutes until the raw smell disappears.
- Add 1 tomato, finely diced. Saute until the tomatoes are cooked and turn mushy.
- Add the vegetables: ¼ cup diced carrot, ¼ cup chopped beans, ¼ cup cauliflower florets¼ cup cauliflower florets, ¼ cup green peas and coriander stems. Saute for about 5 minutes on medium heat.
- Add ground spices: 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon coriander powder¼ teaspoon turmeric. Stir for a couple of minutes.
- Add ½ cup yogurt (or homemade hung curd). Saute until the excess water evaporates and the masala turns thick.
- Drain the soaked basmathi rice and add to the pot. Saute on medium flame for 5 minutes.
Boil
- Add 1¾ cups of hot water to the rice and vegetables. Add saffron with the milk it was soaked in.
- Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon garam masala and finely chopped ½ bunch mint leaves (¼ cup packed) and ½ bunch coriander leaves (¼ cup packed).
- Tie the mint stems together with a kitchen string. Drop it inside the pot. Increase the heat to high. It would soon start boiling.
- Cover the pot with a lid and reduce the flame. Cook undisturbed on low flame for 10 minutes.Turn off the stove and let it rest.
Garnish and serve
- After 10 minutes, open the pot. Remove and discard the bunch of mint stalks.
- Fluff the rice with a fork. Garnish with more herbs.
- Enjoy with onion or cucumber raitha.
Video
Notes
- Rice: Use good quality basmathi rice. It is even better if it’s labelled “aged basmathi”.
- Ghee and oil: Adding both makes the pulao aromatic, while limiting the amount of saturated fat.
- Black cardamom is bigger and has a more intense flavor. If you can’t find it, use 3 green cardamoms instead.
- Ground spices: Red chili powder can be replaced with cayenne pepper. You can use store bought biryani masala instead of garam masala.
- Ginger garlic paste: You can use ½ teaspoon each of grated ginger and garlic instead of ginger garlic paste.
- Soak rice: Soak basmathi rice for at least 20 minutes.
- Hot water: While cooking the rice, make sure you add water that is piping hot.
- Quantity of water: For this veg biryani recipe, the right rice to water ratio is 1:1¾ when cooking in a pot. There must be enough water to avoid the pulao getting burnt or sticking to the bottom. Too much water will make the rice mushy.
- Fresh herbs: Do not skimp on herbs. Use a lavish sprinkling for maximum flavor.
- For more tips, see the post above.