vegetable pulao in pressure cooker | easy and quick veg pulav recipe

by dassana amit | 125 Comments
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vegetable pulao recipe made in pressure cooker with video and step by step photos. veg pulav is a comfort one pot meal when we don’t have time to do elaborate cooking or you have to cook food on a short notice or in a quick time. this is an easy and quick vegetable pulav cooked in a pressure cooker.

easy veg pulao recipe in pressure cooker

here i am sharing the way i make vegetable pulao at home. i sometimes make pulao in a pressure cooker using this recipe or sometimes my mom’s veg pulao recipe made in a pot or pan. when i have time, i cook in a pot and when no time, i use the pressure cooker.

tips for making vegetable pulao in pressure cooker

  1. pressure cooking rice can be tricky. different types of rice will cook at different timings. since i stick to the same brand of organic basmati rice, i now know how much time the grains take to cook. what i have learnt from experience is that its better to soak the rice first. the proportion i use for rice to water is 1: 2 or 1:1.5
  2. while cooking, after adding the rice, stir the grains with the rest of the ingredients well, so that the oil coats each rice grain. i usually pressure cook on a high flame for 2-3 whistles. then let the pressure drop on its own, since the rice is cooking when the cooker is hot and the pressure is there inside it. then i gently fluff the rice before serving.
  3. what i have also seen, is that the more oil the more the food tastes better. i don’t know why. the same is with pulaos too. the veg pulav will be oily, but will taste good too. here i have used 3 tbsp ghee to fry onions and cashews. however, 2 tbsp oil or ghee would also be fine to use.
  4. i add the caramelized onions and cashews to the vegetable pulao as a garnish. the crisp onion slices and cashews add a lot of flavor and texture to the pulao. on occasions i also add some mint and coriander leaves while making the vegetable pulao. you can easily skip this frying part and make the pulao in just 2 tbsp oil or ghee.

the best part i like about veg pulav is that they are healthy as we add a lot of vegetables to this dish. in this veg pulav recipe, i have added green peas, mushrooms, carrots, french beans, capsicum (bell pepper), potatoes, tomatoes and onions. you can also add your choice of veggies to the pulao.

vegetable pulao can be served with plain yogurt or with any raita. i usually serve this vegetable pulao with boondi raita or onion-tomato raita.

if you are looking for more pulao recipes then do check:

  1. kashmiri pulao
  2. peas pulao
  3. tawa pulao
  4. paneer pulao.
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vegetable pulao recipe

4.63 from 27 votes
Author:Dassana Amit
Prep Time:30 mins
Cook Time:15 mins
Total Time:45 mins
Course:main course
Cuisine:indian
Calories: 440kcal
Servings (change the number to scale):4
easy veg pulao recipe in pressure cooker
easy and quick vegetable pulao recipe made in pressure cooker.

INGREDIENTS FOR vegetable pulao recipe

(1 CUP = 250 ML)

main ingredients for vegetable pulao

  • 1.5 cups basmati rice OR about 300 grams of basmati rice
  • ¼ cup chopped french beans
  • ¼ cup chopped tomatoes OR 1 medium sized tomato
  • ⅓ cup peas (matar) - fresh or frozen
  • ⅓ cup chopped carrots - chopped into cubes
  • ⅓ cup chopped potatoes - chopped into cubes
  • ⅓ cup chopped medium cauliflower (gobi florets)
  • ⅓ cup chopped capsicum (bell pepper or shimla mirch) - chopped into cubes
  • ¼ to ⅓ cup sliced or chopped mushrooms
  • 1 medium sized onion thinly sliced OR about ⅓ cup thinly sliced onions
  • 2.5 cups water
  • 3 tablespoon oil or ghee * check notes

crushed or ground into paste in mortar-pestle

  • ½ inch ginger (adrak) - roughly chopped
  • 3 to 4 medium garlic cloves (lahsun)
  • 1 green chili - roughly chopped

whole garam masala or spices for vegetable pulao

  • 1 inch cinnamon stick (dalchini)
  • 2 to 3 green cardamoms (choti elaichi)
  • 1 black cardamom (badi elaichi)
  • 2 to 3 cloves (lavang)
  • 2 single strands of mace (javitri)
  • 1 medium sized tej patta (indian bay leaf)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
  • a small piece of stone flower (pathar phool) - optional
  • 3 to 4 whole black pepper (sabut kali mirch)

for garnishing vegetable pulao

  • 1 small onion thinly sliced OR about ¼ cup thinly sliced onions
  • 12 to 15 cashews (kaju)
  • 1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves (dhania patta) OR mint leaves (pudina patta)

HOW TO MAKE vegetable pulao recipe

soaking rice for making vegetable pulao

  • rinse the rice till the water runs clears of starch.
  • then soak the basmati rice in water for 30 minutes. 
  • drain and keep the basmati rice aside.

making vegetable pulao in pressure cooker

  • heat 3 tbsp ghee or oil in the pressure cooker. add sliced onions.
  • saute on a low flame, till the onions are golden and then remove them with a slotted spoon. keep the caramelized onions aside.
  • in the same oil, add cashews and brown them. keep the fried cashews also aside.
  • in the same oil or ghee, add the whole spices - cinnamon, tej patta, black cardamom, green cardamoms, cloves, black pepper, stone flower, cumin seeds and mace. saute for a few seconds till the spices become aromatic.
  • add sliced onions. stir and saute the onions on a low flame. saute till the onions become golden.
  • then add ginger+garlic+green chili paste. stir and saute till the raw aroma of the ginger and garlic goes away. about 15 to 20 seconds.
  • add the all the chopped veggies, including tomatoes and peas.
  • saute for 2 to 3 minutes on a low flame.
  • add the drained basmati rice. saute gently for 1 to 2 minutes till the oil/ghee has coated the rice grains evenly. pour water.
  • add salt. stir the veg pulao gently.
  • check the taste of the stock. if it tastes bland, then add some more salt.
  • cover the pressure cooker tightly with its lid.
  • pressure cook vegetable pulao for 2 to 3 whistles on a medium to high flame. 2 whistles will give you a less softer texture. for more softer texture cook for 3 whistles.
  • when the pressure settles down on its own, remove the lid and gently fluff the rice.
  • serve the vegetable pulao garnished with fried onions, cashews and mint or coriander leaves. 
  • you can also gently mix the garnishing ingredients with the vegetable pulao.
  • this pressure cooked vegetable pulao goes well with boondi raita, plain raita or onion-tomato raita. 
  • also accompany some onion slices with lemon or a vegetable salad or pickle and papad.

RECIPE VIDEO

NOTES

* skip the fried garnish part of onions & cashews if you prefer. in this case, just make the pulao with 2 tbsp oil or ghee instead of 3 tbsp oil or ghee.
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preparation for vegetable pulao recipe

1. first rinse the rice very well and then soak the grains in water for 30 minutes.

basmati rice for veg pulao recipe

2. meanwhile, you can chop all the veggies. then heat 3 tbsp ghee or oil in the pressure cooker. add ¼ cup sliced onions.

onions for veg pulao recipe

3. saute on a low flame till the onions are golden and then remove them with a slotted spoon.

onions for making veg pulao recipe

4. keep the crisp & golden fried onions aside.

fried onions for veg pulao recipe

5. in the same oil, add cashews and brown them.

fry cashews to make vegetable pulao recipe

6. keep the fried cashews also aside.

fried cashews for veg pulao recipe

making vegetable pulao recipe in pressure cooker

7. in the same oil, add the whole spices – cinnamon, tej patta, black cardamom, green cardamoms, cloves, black pepper, stone flower, cumin seeds and mace. saute for a few seconds till the spices become aromatic.

fry spices to make veg pulao recipe

8. add now ⅓ cup sliced onions.

add onions to veg pulao masala

9. stir and saute the onions on a low flame.

saute onions - making vegetable pulao recipe

10. saute till the onions become golden.

sauting onions to make vegetable pulao

11. then add ginger+garlic+green chili paste. stir and saute till the raw aroma of the ginger and garlic goes away.

ginger garlic paste for veg pulao recipe

12. add the chopped veggies and saute for 2 to 3 minutes on a low flame.

vegetables to make pulao recipe in pressure cooker

13. drain water from soaked basmati rice after 30 minutes.

rice for veg pulao recipe

14. add the drained basmati rice in the pressure cooker.

rice for vegetable pulao recipe

15. saute gently for 1 to 2 minutes till the oil/ghee has coated the rice grains evenly.

saute vegetable pulao in pressure cooker

16. pour water.

water for vegetable pulao recipe

17. add salt.

add salt to vegetable pulao recipe

18. stir gently.

stir the vegetable pulao in pressure cooker, making veg pulav recipe

19. cover and pressure cook the vegetable pulao for 2 to 3 whistles on a high flame. pressure cooking for 2 whistles will give you an al dente texture. for a softer texture pressure cook vegetable pulao for 3 whistles.

pressure cook the vegetable pulao recipe, making veg pulav recipe

20. when the pressure settles down on its own, remove the lid and gently fluff the rice.

vegetable pulao recipe in pressure cooker, veg pulav recipe

serve the vegetable pulao garnished with the fried caramelized onions, cashews and mint or coriander leaves. vegetable pulav goes well with a raita like boondi raita, plain raita or onion-tomato raita and you have a comforting meal ready. a mango pickle or lemon pickle also goes well with veg pulao. even a side thin vegetable curry or kadhi or spiced buttermilk (chaas) goes well.

easy vegetable pulao recipe in pressure cooker, veg pulav recipe, vegetable pulao recipe

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dassana amit

Founder, Chef, Recipe Developer, Food Photographer >> MORE ABOUT US

namaste and welcome to vegrecipesofindia.com which i started in feb 2009 and is a pure vegetarian blog. i have been passionate about cooking from childhood and began to cook from the age of 10. later having enrolled in a home science degree greatly enhanced my cooking & baking skills and took it to a different level which i now share as foolproof recipes. i was formally trained both in mainstream indian as well as international cuisines.

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125 comments/reviews

  1. Veg. Pulao recepe has lot of calories and saturated fat. I like you gave nutrition facts for Recepe. Is it possible to have different section for recipes with low in calories as well as in saturated fat ?

  2. Tried this out today and as expected loved loved loved it. 🙂 I feel the kaju oninon garnish really makes a huge difference. I added few sultanas as well and it gave a nice flavour to it. Amazing recipes you have Dasana. Easy to follow And yummy! 😀👌🏻5 stars

  3. Tried this vegetable pulao for the first time … came out really yummy .. served it with raita and peas masala .. thanks to ur recipe 😊

  4. Hi….
    I tried ur pulao recipe today….. it was awesome….. Simple, easy and tasty. Thanks for the yummy recipe. Mt husband and in laws also liked it5 stars

  6. Really excellent recipe! I made it today and it was great. I use your recipes for my cooking a lot and theyve tasted really good5 stars

  8. Hi,

    Thanks for this wonderful recipe!
    Just had a question here. Is it ok to include lemon also to this pulao or is it not required.

  11. Thank You so much I tried the pulao it was awesome and easy. Each time when I am doing pulao or biriyani I will be tensed about the outcoming but today I did confidently I got it. My hubby too happy.5 stars

  13. thanks for the wonderful recipe…very easy to prepare….and super tasty as well…..thanks a lot

  14. Thank you very much,pulao was superb,kids and family enjoyed the dish. By following your instruction its too cool to make everyone happy at dinner time. Thank you again.

  19. Its been two months that I have been following your recipies on everyday basis. First thing in the morning..

    Your recipies have brought a lot of appreciation for me!!
    Its a new household as I have married recently and everything is a lot easier with your website.

    Thanks a ton!!!
    Tanvi

  21. Hi Dassana, Love ur blog and love d way u present the cooking…I follow ur blog closely…Its a saviuor for a begnnier like me whon loves cooking..Have tried few recipes like from gobi dry I made cabbage dry manchuri which was amazing and other best recipe was kesar Shrikand which was soo good…Kids at my house loved it…Chilli paneer looked really good however the taste wasn’t…I wasn’t sure wat went wrong maybe the soya sauce was more…5 stars

    • thanks a lot pavithra. in chinese recipes, the flavor balance of the sauces is very important. even if one kind of sauce becomes more, it offsets the balance of the whole dish. when makinf any indian chinese recipe, just add amount of the sauce first (1 to 2 tsp) . mix and then increase in small parts (1 to 3 tsp) as per the taste you want. hope this helps.

    • Thanks a lot Dassana for the quick response…. Wen u say 1:2 does it mean for every 1 tsp of soya sauce add 2 tsp chilli sauce…??5 stars

  23. Hi Dassana,
    I really love your website,somehow I find all ur recipes so simple, beautiful and tasty. Whenever I need a recipe I just visit ur website.Today I tried ur Khandvi recipe it was great and will try vegpulao recipe tommorrow….Even after having dinner and after seeing ur recipe my mouth really watered to eat it….
    Great work…
    Thanks
    Seema.5 stars