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Chickpea Rice Pulao with Pulao/Biryani Masala. Easy 1 Pot meal w/ chickpeas, basmati rice and vegetables. Vegan Gluten-free Soy-free Nut-free One Pot Recipe. Can be made oil-free.Â
Easy Chickpea Rice Pulao with Home made pulao/biryani Masala! Make your own pulao masala (spice blend) or use store bought. Veggies, chickpeas and basmati rice make this a fabulous one pot meal. The fresh home made masala is so much more fragrant.
Pulao and Biryani are essentially one pot meals made with grains such as rice and protein + veggies, lots of herbs, spices. Pulao, pulav or Pilaf generally has the protein cooked in spices or sauce, and then the grains are added with broth or water, cooked together to finish the dish. Biryani is a layered meal where most of the components are cooked separately to al-dente, then layered, spiced, herbed, slow cooked and served. Biryani can have other regional recipes as well, where everything is cooked in one pot.
Often the recipes call for whole spices or a collection of spices depending on the region. That increases the ingredient list and adds extra time needed to fetch the ingredients and cook them in the first few steps of the recipe. To shorten that time, the spices can be roasted and ground and stored, to use in any grain + protein one pot meal. Use the recipe from this post or pick up the Biryani/Pulao Masala spice blend from an Indian store! Serve with non dairy yogurt or raita, pickle or mango/mango salsa. Find out how to make your own yogurt or raita (spiced yogurt cucumber salad) in my cookbook !
You can also use garam masala of course. The coriander seeds, peppercorns and fennel seeds give the pulao masala an amazing flavor that works beautifully in rice/grain dishes. The recipe looks long because of the spice blend recipe with it. Read through it once!Â
More One pot meals or rice sides
- Bisi Bele Bath Pressure Cooker Split Pea Brown Rice Soup
- Pressure Cooker Curried Chickpea stuffed Acorn Squash
- Tempeh Tikka Pulao.Â
- Chipotle Citrus Tofu and Broccoli
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Chickpea Rice Pulao with Veggies and Pulao/Biryani Masala
Ingredients Â
For the Pulao/Biryani Masala: Use whichever spices you have. Omitting 1 or 2 spices works fine.
- 5 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp black peppercorns, use 1/3 tsp for less heat
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 star anise
- 1 black cardamom
- 2 green cardamoms whole or seeds
- 4 cloves
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
For the pulao:
- 3/4 cup white basmati rice
- 1 tsp oil
- 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 cup chopped red onion
- 1.5 tbsp garlic paste
- 2 tsp ginger paste
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1.5 tbsp pulao/biryani masala home made, above or store bought
- 1 cup chopped tomato, 1 large tomato
- 1 cup small chopped assorted vegetables, like chopped carrots, green beans, cauliflower etc.
- 15 oz can chickpeas , or 1.5 cups cooked or use other beans of choice
- 3/4 to 1 tsp salt
- 1.5 cups water
- cilantro, mint, lemon juice for garnish
InstructionsÂ
Make the Pulao/Biryani Masala:
- In a small skillet, dry roast all the whole spices through cloves over medium-low heat until they get fragrant and coriander seeds change color. (do not brown). Stir occasionally. This will take 1 to 3 minutes . Cool, transfer to a spice grinder and grind with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Keep aside or store in an airtight container. makes about 3 Tablespoons, half of which will be used for the pulao.
For the Pulao:
- Soak the basmati rice in water for about 15 minutes (the next few steps take that much time, so no planning needed).
- Heat oil in a pressure cooker over medium heat (IP on saute). Add cumin seeds and cook for a minute or until fragrant.
- Add onions, a generous pinch of salt and a generous pinch of sugar and cook until golden. 5 to 7 minutes. Add ginger, garlic, turmeric, cayenne, pulao masala and mix well. Cook for few seconds or until very fragrant. Add tomatoes and a tbsp of water and cook until the tomatoes are saucy. Mash the larger pieces. about 5 minutes.
- Add the vegetables, chickpeas and salt and mix well. Cook for a minute.
- Drain the rice, add to the pressure cooker. Add scant 1.5 cups of water and mix well. Close the lid and cook for 1 to 3 minute on Manual in Instant Pot (or cook for 1 whistle) - Depends on the type/brand of rice.
- Let the pressure release naturally. Add a dash of lemon juice and fluff. Taste and adjust salt if needed and mix. Garnish with cilantro and chopped mint. Serve with non dairy yogurt, raita, pickle or mango/mango salsa
Notes
Follow steps 1 to 3 in a saucepan. At step 4, add the veggies and chickpeas, cover and cook for 6 minutes or until the vegetables are somewhat crisp al dente.
At step 5, add 1.5 cups water and mix. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 18 minutes, or until the rice looks dry on the top. Let it sit for a few minutes, then open the lid and fluff. Nutritional values based on one serving
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi Richard. This recipe looks amazing! Can I make this in a rice cooker? Thanks so much! I love your blog, by the way. The recipes are unique and all pretty amazing!! ????
I havent tried it but it should work. Cook for the time you cook the rice.
Omg. Sorry for that autocorrect to Richard.. ???? thank you, Richa. I am going to try this week!
This looks much better than the ‘Englishfied’ biryani my Mom used to make when we were younger
Yumm! Fantastic flavors. Might leave off cayenne to reduce spiciness a bit, and do your roasted chickpeas next time. Have no idea if needed by anyone else. Thanks!
I went out and bought a mortar and pestle and made this today. Such amazing flavours in an easy recipe that will become a regular in my repertoire. Thanks Richa.
Awesome!!