There is nothing quite as satisfying as homemade food. Even if it is as simple as a bowl of rice and lentil, homemade food fulfils on another level. With the pandemic coming onto our backs in 2020, one thing was also clear. Everyone needs to know how to cook and sustain themselves! 

So this recipe is for everyone out there who want to start cooking and eat delicious homemade meals. We are starting with the basic mix veg pulao recipe. Veg pulao in a pressure cooker is the easiest recipe ever!
Let’s begin!

1- Simple Vegetable Veg Pulao

• 1 cup Basmati rice
• 2 tablespoons Oil
• ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
• ½ inch Cinnamon stick
• 2 Cloves
• 2-3 Black peppercorns
• 2 Green cardamoms
• 1 Bay leaf
• ½ cup Red onion chopped
• 1 teaspoon Ginger paste or freshly grated or crushed
• 1 teaspoon Garlic paste or freshly grated
• 1 Green chili chopped finely
• ¼ cup Tomato chopped
• ¼ cup Carrot chopped
• ¼ cup Green beans (French beans) chopped
• ¼ cup Green peas
• ¼ cup Potatoes chopped
• Salt to taste
• ½ teaspoon Black pepper powder
• ½ teaspoon Garam masala
• 1 teaspoon Lemon juice
• 2 cups Water

Prep-

• Wash the rice under running cold water till water runs clear. Soak them in enough water for 15-20 minutes.
• After soaking time, discard the water and drain completely.
• Meanwhile, chop the veggies for pulao.

Method- To make the mix veg pulao, follow these instructions.

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan on medium heat. Once hot add cumin seeds and let them sizzle.
2. Then add whole spices (cinnamon stick, cloves, black cardamom, green cardamom, bay lead saute for a minute or till you get a nice aroma of spices.
3. Then add onions and cook till onions get soft and translucent.
4. Then add ginger paste, garlic paste, and chopped green chillies, saute for 40-50 seconds.
5. Now mix in tomatoes and cook for a minute.
6. Add rest of the veggies (carrot, green beans, green peas, potato), salt, pepper, garam masala, and lemon juice. Mix well and cook for a minute.
7. Then add rice and saute for a minute.
8. Add water and bring it to a rolling boil.
9. Once it starts boiling, cover it with the tight-fitting lid, LOWER the heat to the lowest possible and cook for 17-18 minutes. Do not peek or open the lid during this cooking time.
10. After 17 minutes, turn off the stove. Still, do not open the lid. Let it rest covered for 5 minutes.
11. Then open the lid, fluff up the rice using a fork and mix gently.
12. Garnish with cilantro and/or mint leaves and serve.

2- Roasted Veg pulao recipe - You can

Ingredients

For soaking rice

1.5 cups basmati rice - 300 grams, rinsed & soaked for 30 minutes

Vegetables

• ½ to ¾ cup chopped cauliflower florets
• ½ to ¾ cup chopped potatoes
• ¼ cup chopped carrots
• ⅓ cup green peas - fresh or frozen
• ¼ cup chopped green peas (french beans)
• ¼ cup chopped green bell pepper (capsicum) - optional
• ¼ cup sliced baby corn - optional

Other ingredients

• 3 tablespoons Ghee or oil
• 1 cup thinly sliced onions or 1 large onion, sliced
• ½ cup chopped tomatoes or 1 medium-sized tomato, chopped
• 1 to 1.5 inches ginger - crushed to a paste in a mortar-pestle
• 4 to 5 small to medium garlic cloves
• 1 to 2 green chillies (chilli pepper)
• 3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
• 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves - optional
• ¼ teaspoon lemon juice - optional
• 2.5 to 3 cups water or veg stock * check notes below for details. I added 3 cups of water
• salt as required

Whole spices

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds or 1 teaspoon caraway seeds (shah jeera)
• 5 to 6 whole black pepper - optional
• 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
• 4 cloves
• 3 to 4 green cardamoms
• 1 black cardamom - optional
• 1 small piece of mace - optional
• 1 small star anise - optional
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 1 small piece of stone flower (dagad phool or patthar ke phool) - optional

For garnish

1 to 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves or mint leaves

Method

1. Rinse rice till the water runs clear of starch and become transparent while rinsing.
2. Soak the rice in enough water for 30 minutes. Drain all the water and keep the soaked rice aside.
3. Rinse, peel and chop the vegetables.
4. Crush chopped ginger, garlic and green chillies to a paste in a mortar-pestle or grind them in a small mixer or grinder with a bit of water.
5. Frying spices and onions
6. In a deep thick bottomed pot or pan, heat ghee or oil and fry all the whole spices mentioned above, till the oil becomes fragrant and the spices splutter.
7. Add the onions and saute them till golden. Saute the onions on a low to medium-low flame and stir often for uniform browning.
8. Add the ginger-garlic-green chili paste and saute for some seconds till their raw aroma goes away.
9. Add the tomatoes and saute for 2 to 3 minutes on a low to medium-low flame.
10. Add all the chopped veggies and saute again for 1 to 2 minutes on a low to medium-low flame.
11. Add rice and saute gently for 1 to 2 minutes on a low or medium-low flame, so that the rice gets well coated with the oil.
12. Add water and lemon juice. Mix and stir.
13. Season with salt and stir again.
14. Cooking veg pulao
15. Cover tightly and let the rice cook on a low flame, till the water is absorbed and the rice is well cooked. 
16. Check in a few times to check if the water is enough. Depending on the quality of rice, you may need to add less or more water. With a fork too, you can gently stir the rice without breaking the rice grains.
17. Once the rice grains are cooked, fluff and let the rice stand for 5 minutes.
18. Serve pulao hot with some side salad, sliced onion & lemon wedges or raita. You can also garnish it with chopped coriander or mint leaves or fried cashews or fried onions.

Well now you know how to make veg pulao in pressure cooker. Did you know the word pulao comes from the Persian or Turkish word - Pilaf? Pilaf is light, fluffy, fragrant and delicious! Always better to know these fun facts! Would you like to say a veg tawa pulao recipe? Tell us in the comments!