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veg pulao recipe, vegetable pulao recipe, veg pilaf
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pulao recipe with step by step photos. veg pulao is a comfort food as well as satisfying. pair this mildly flavored aromatic veg pulao with a raita, pickle and roasted papad and you don’t need anything else.

i make veg pulao when i want to cook something quick and easy. this is my mom’s vegetable pulav recipe and one of our favorite rice recipes, the other being veg biryani.

i have many veg pulao recipes on the blog like peas pulao, kashmiri pulao, tawa pulao and so on. however most of the times i always end up making veg pulao this way. but there are many other ways you can make pulao with mix vegetables. few such pulao recipes you can try at times are:

i also tried some other variations of making vegetable pulaos but it did not suit our taste buds. there is no addition of any pulao or biryani masala in this recipe. just the whole garam masala spices are added.

what i like about making veg pulao is that its gets made quickly. if you have a food processor for chopping the veggies, then its more quick. usually i like the texture of the rice to be a little soft in pulao than being al dente or the way they are served in restaurants.

you can make the veg pulao in a pressure cooker or in a pan. in the notes section, i have mentioned the amount of water to be added while cooking pulao in a pressure cooker. 

the rice grains have to be separate & yet well cooked in a pulao or biryani. cooking rice can be tricky at times and to get the right texture needs some experience. cooking rice perfectly needs a separate post and i will share my successes & failures on cooking rice in another post.

veg pulao recipe below:

veg pulao recipe

pulao recipe | veg pulao recipe | vegetable pulao recipe

veg pulao recipe - simple, aromatic and healthy veg pulav or veg pilaf.

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course main course
cuisine indian
prep time 30 minutes
cook time 25 minutes
total time 55 minutes
servings 4
author dassana amit

ingredients (1 cup = 250 ml)

main ingredients for pulao:

  • 1.5 cups long grained or basmati rice soaked for 30 minutes
  • ¼ cup heaped EACH of chopped potatoes, cauliflower/broccoli, french beans, green peas (fresh or frozen) and carrots - OR 1 to 1.5 cups chopped vegetables of your choice
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 medium size tomato, chopped
  • ½ inch ginger + 2 to 3 medium garlic cloves + 1 green chili - crushed to a paste in a mortar-pestle
  • 6 to 7 drops of lime juice
  • 2.5 to 3 cups water or veg stock * check notes below for details. i added 3 cups of water
  • 2 tablespoon ghee or 2.5 tablespoon oil
  • salt as required

whole spices for pulao:

  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera) OR ¾ teaspoon caraway seeds (shah jeera)
  • 4 to 5 whole black pepper (sabut kali mirch)
  • 1 tej patta (indian bay leaf or tamalpatra)
  • 2 to 3 cloves (laung or lavang)
  • 2 to 3 green cardamoms (hari elaichi or choti elaichi)
  • 1 black cardamom (badi elaichi)
  • 2 single strands of mace (jayitri or javitri)
  • 1 small star anise (chakriphool)
  • 1 inch cinnamon (dalchini)
  • 1 small piece of stone flower (dagad phool or patthar ke phool) - optional

how to make recipe

soaking rice for veg pulao:

  1. rinse rinse till the water runs clear of starch and become transparent while rinsing.

  2. soak the rice in enough water for 30 minutes. drain and keep aside.

making pulao recipe:

  1. in a deep thick bottomed pot or pan, heat ghee/oil and fry all the whole spices mentioned above, till the oil becomes fragrant
  2. add the onions and saute them till golden. saute the onions on a low flame and stir often for uniform browning.
  3. add the ginger-garlic-green chili paste and saute for 10 to 12 seconds.
  4. add the tomatoes and saute for 2-3 minutes on a low flame.
  5. add all the veggies and saute again for 2-3 minutes on a low flame.
  6. add drained rice and saute gently for 2 minutes on a low flame, so that the rice gets well coated with the oil.
  7. pour water and stir.
  8. sprinkle 6 to 7 drops of lime juice. season with salt and stir again.

  9. cover tightly and let the rice cook on a low flame, till the water is absorbed and the rice is well cooked. 

  10. check in between 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.

  11. once the rice grains are cooked, fluff and let the rice stand for 5 minutes.
  12. serve the veg pulao hot with some side salad, sliced onion & lemon wedges or raita. you can also garnish veg pulao with chopped coriander or mint leaves.

recipe notes

if you are making veg pulao in a pressure cooker, then add 2.5 to 3 cups water. for an al dente texture, 2.5 cups is fine and for a softer texture 3 cups water is fine.


how to make veg pulao recipe:

1. firstly rinse the rice in water runs clear of starch. then soak the rice in enough water for 30 minutes. then drain the rice and keep aside.

soaking basmati rice

2. when the rice is soaking, prep the veggies and keep the whole spices aside. pic of the the whole spices added in the pulao, except cumin.

spices for veg pulao recipe

3. heat ghee or oil in a deep thick bottomed pot or pan. add all whole spices and fry till they become fragrant.

saute spices to make veg pulao

4. add the thinly sliced onions. saute the onions on a low flame till golden and stirring them often for uniform browning.

add onions - making veg pulao

5. once the onions become golden, then add crushed ginger+garlic+green chili paste. stir and saute till the raw aroma of the ginger & garlic goes away.

add ginger garlic paste - making veg pulao

6. add chopped tomatoes. saute for 2 to 3 minutes on a low flame.

add tomatoes - making vegetable pulao

7. now add all the chopped veggies and saute again for 2 to 3 minutes on a low flame.

add vegetables

8. add the drained rice.

add drained rice

9. saute rice gently for 2 minutes on a low flame, so that the rice gets well coated with the oil.

saute rice to make vegetable pulao

10. pour water.

add water to vegetable pulao

11. stir well.

stir vegetable pulao

12. add 6 to 7 drops of lime juice to the veg pulao.

add lime juice to vegetable pulao

13. season with salt. to find the amount of salt added, check the taste of the water. you should feel saltiness in the water. this means the amount of salt added is right. if the water does not feel salty, then you need to add some more salt.

add salt to vegetable pulao recipe

14. stir and cover the pot or pan with its lid tightly.

cook vegetable pulao

15. cover and cook the rice till all the water is absorbed. cook veg pulao on a low to medium flame. usually in the beginning i cook on a medium flame and then half way lower the flame. check in between 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.

checking vegetable pulao

16. once the rice grains are cooked, fluff and let the rice stand for 5 minutes covered with the lid.

vegetable pulao recipe, veg pulao recipe

17. serve veg pulao garnished with coriander leaves or mint leaves or fried onions and cashews. as a side accompaniment with pulao, you can serve onion tomato raita or boondi raita or cucumber raita or just plain yogurt along with roasted papad and mango pickle or lemon pickle.

veg pulao recipe, vegetable pulao recipe, veg pilaf




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Reader Interactions

{ 193 Responses }

  1. The water to be used in this recipe,is it normal water or should we boil water and then use it.

      • Thankyou so much for your reply.I boiled water and added the boiled water directly.Maybe that is why the rice grains were not separate and looked liked kichdi.

        • welcome beena 🙂. thanks for letting me. if you use boiled water, the cut down on the cooking time. you can also add less water if using boiled water. sometimes i just cook plain rice with boiled water. so the time taken is less.

  2. All these recipies in the site are very helpful and easy to make and serve. Having a nice taste. It encourages the cooking. I am so happy for finding the site. Thank you very much for this useful site. It will be very useful for everyone

  6. Hello Dassana,
    Have tried many of your recipes.. All are very neatly explained… Yesterday tried veg pulao and as usual this also came very well.. Thank you very much

  7. thank u so much i prepared it for my siblings dey were very happy.Ill try some more recipes

  9. I wanted to surprise my mom on her birthday and thought of cooking something from her favorite list…thank u for the recipe…its very prompt and easy….ur help means a lot to me..my mom is very happy…

  11. I have made veg pulav but measurment pf water is not perfect. Plz tell me how many water will be for 1 glass of rice? Plz tell me fast.

    • mayuri, for cooking rice always use 1:2 ratio of rice to water. so for 1 glass of rice, you can use 2 glasses water. this ratio also depends on the quality of rice and if soaking is done or not. so if a rice is pre-soaked for 30 minutes, then you can use 1.5 to 1.75 glass of water.

  13. Hello Maàm , today i’m very much upset. Actually I’m a teenager and I’m good in sweet dishes but salty…. every time ya to spices me garbar ho
    jaygi ya kabhi salt kam ho jayga and all these down my confidence. to kya main kbhi achchi cook ban paungi?

    • with practice and experiences, any one can cook amazing recipes. one just needs patience, practice and perseverance. for salt, first always add less and then you can taste the dish and add more salt if required. for addition of spices, you will learn this through practice.

  14. Hii..actually i want to ask as you have not mentioned..the elaichi laung and kalimirch…this spices have to be crushed a little or not….i tried without crushing..but it was not so aromatic…so my mom says i was suppose to crush these spices a little..because Boro people like fragrance…so is it needed to crush.

    • i generally do not crush the spices when adding to pulao. but yes if you crush them a bit, then the fragrance is more. the sensitiveness of the aroma of garam masala differs from person to person. i know some people who cannot stand aroma of garam masala. while for some, even this much that i have added is less. agree with what you say. so you can crush and add.

  15. I grew up eating boring rice and beans. My co-worker in India said she brought Veg Pulao to their pot luck today. I had no idea what that was so I asked for the recipe and she said she does not cook so did not know (imaging that). I google it and came across your recipe which I read in details, it seems so wonderful and easy to follow. I will find the ingredients in local Indian store and make it ASAP. Thank you so much for sharing with the graphic details Dassana. I will check out your other recipes as well, I can not wait…

    Juan

  16. I have been searching for a yummy pulao recipe. This one is too satisfying. U r gifted Dassana.

  17. Pulao is aromatic and delicious. I did notice that carrots is mentioned twice in the ingredient list, I realized one of it should be potato when I saw the pics. Thanks for the lovely recipe. You’re recipes are the best!

  23. Very good explanation. Helped me to prepare pulao for the first time. It really came out good. Thank you !!!!

  24. I tried this recipe. But it didn’t turn out good. 🙁 rice was not that puffed! I used basmati rice but still it looked like khichdi! Not pulav! 🙁

    • sheetal, did the rice cook well. how much water did you add? depending on the quality of rice, you can add from 2.5 to 3 cups of water. also the rice has to be rinsed very well before cooking.

  25. Hi…can we avoid the 7 spices which u have mentioned.. As we don’t use these… Or..Which is more important from above spices.

    • which 7 spices are you referring to. there are 10 spices listed. from these 10, you can skip black cardamom, star anise, stone flower and black pepper.

  26. Awesome recipe like always..I have been following your recipes for months now. Thank you for making cooking a simpler task?

  29. Another of your wonderful recipes tried and ‘tasted’! Thank you Ma’am. It turned out awesome!

  31. Its great! Its really helpful for my Indonesian girlfriend who is learning Indian recipes. The pictures given are very useful and tasteful.

  34. Hi,

    Tried this pulav but felt little less spicy..even after adding 3 green chillies crushed with ginger & garlic. should i trying adding slit green chilles instead of grinding it..suggestions pls..

    • this pulao is not spicy. for more spice, you will have to increase the number of green chilies. slit green chilies won’t make it spicy. you can use green chilies which are spicy and hot. these are usually dark green in color and of small to medium length. also you can add some red chili powder too.

      • Thank you so much Dasanna…!! very clearly answered..If I had to add red chilli powder for 1 cup of rice..how much I should add it..

  35. Hello..wantd to ask if i can ise capsicum and french beans along with potatoes and peas…will it change the taste…

    • kavya yes it would change the taste as capsicum has a strong flavor and french bean has a mild taste. you could try them and let us know as all mixed veggies give different taste and flavor 🙂 hope this help’s you.

  37. Hi Dassana,

    First of all, a big big thank you..Whatever cooking I know is only because of you. You are my God of cooking!!!
    I have tried many of your recipes and all of them were just awesome….Veg pulao is my favorite and its loved by everybody at home…
    thank you so much again.

  38. Thank u my dear….. All ur recipes are just awesum
    And those step by step pics are just like a cherry on the cake..

  40. Hi Dassana,

    i never ever tried cooking untill recently after i got married..
    You are a life saver and my Hero!!
    Your recipes are simple and easy to follow and amazingly delicious…
    the small details and whole garam masala pics are an absolute blessing for me as i am still in the phase where i google to confirm masala names and images???
    Thanks a ton and god bless you. Cant wait to try out your other recipes ?

    • thankyou so much trupti for your kind and honest words:) we are pleased to know this. you are welcome, god bless you. surely try other recipes and let us know hot were they?

  41. Hi Dassana,
    I never ever tried to cook untill recently after i got married.
    You are my hero… Your recipes are simple and easy yet soooooooo delicious ?, the photographs and the details that you added are a blessing. Its so convenient for someone like me to identify the whole garam masala without using google images… ??
    Thank you for your amazing recipes…
    And God bless you..

  42. Thanks a lot for this wonderful recipe… I tried this & came out really well… Everybody at my home loved it.. Continue ur good work 🙂

  43. Probably one of the best recipes I have come across! Especially the steps which are clear and easy to do and candid too! I am encouraged to look into other recipes of yours. Thanks a lot

  44. Hei ..dr ..ur dishes are just fabulus ….m asking can i make the same recipie in low flame and in dum . Just like biriani…

  46. Hi
    Thanks for the reciepe.i followed this receipe.but while cooking my vegetables did cook properly.they were still kacchi. what should i do now.
    Thanks

  48. Hi. Thanks for the step to step procedure for the pulav recipe. Please let me know which brand basmati rice have u taken in the picture. And if im making it in pressure cooker or non stick pan, how much water wl i put?

  49. Nice … teach to All recipes … u have any new idea about … vegpulao

    Thanks
    Regards
    Swati Ritesh Nawale

  55. i made this for lunch , turned out really good. My guests loved it too. Two recipes tried and tested from your blog… Eager to try so many more 🙂 thank you so much dassana

  56. For veg pulao in pressure cooker recipe, how much time ( whistles ) should I allow? Thanks.

  57. Hello..ur receipes r easy to understand…I really appreciate…I just wanted to know…that…my family doesn’t like these khade masale…while eating pulao….can they b seprated after there fragrance…get mixed with the oil…or. somethingelse..u may suggest…thanku…

  58. really very nice and delicious recipe. i have tried this recipe. it was very tasty. .
    thanks for nice sharing.

  59. Namaste,
    Thank you for sharing this recipe with pictures it help me so much I just have a question. I bought biryani pulav masala should I still put all the whole spices before.?

  60. Thank you once again for such a wonderful recipe i made pulao with leftover over and it turned out to be mind blowing its tastes like pulao we get in Hyderabad. Thnx so much and all ur recipes are like treasure thnx for helping out people who are new to cooking and also dying to eat tasty food. Ma’am thnk you.

  61. Hi dassana … even though we don’t know personally ur posts makes us feel like a family … ur work is just amazing what ever I think of cooking my hands automatically opens ur website… your posts are very easy to understand the recipe and Start cooking. .. keep up the good work

    • thanks srujana for this sweet and positive feedback. felt good to read your comment. i am touched. even though we don’t know each other. but cooking is the connecting thread. happy cooking.

  63. Hai Dassana
    really appreciate your cooking website…has been great help for an amateur like me….thank you very much.I have an enquiry can this vege pulao be cooked in a rice cooker…and how do I go about it…
    thank you…May God bless you always

    • yes can be made in the rice cooker. in a pan, just follow steps 1 to 9. then add the whole mixture in the rice cooker. add water + lime juice + salt. stir and steam the rice.

  65. Thanks a ton 😀 i am home alone so had to make something(tired of bahar ka khana kha kha k :/) The pulao is almost ready..hopefully it’ll be accha ^.^

  69. Hi Dasanna…your blog has become the go-to place for me, next to my mom…..Awesomesttttt recipies….Too bad this is veg recipes of india… I’d rather you start another nonveg recipes of india!!!…..guessing you are a vegetarian urself :-((((

  72. Very nice. Tried the peas pulav recipe. It was awesome. I will try this also. Thanks for very clear instructions..

  75. if i want to cook with 1kg rice using a pressure cooker. how much water i must use. i had never made so cooked more then 500g. So, please suggest me. I am using Broken KRT rice.

    • you will have to use double the amount of water. but broken rice will cook faster and may take less water. so i would suggest you try cooking this rice with a much smaller quantity, like say 1 cup. then proceed with the bigger batch.

  76. Come out great…my mom loved it…thanks a lot for all the minute details u mention in ur blogs….my most loved blog site: -)

  79. I tried this recipe for lunch…was a big hit…thanks a lot…please keep posting more recipes.

  80. hi Dassana..greetings from Malaysia. I always order Pulao Rice whenever eating out a Kashmiri Restaurant here. Will try your recipe soon. Thanks : )

  82. hi dassana I am always reading yr recipes but going to make now.i read all the comments and God bless you abundantly for all your hardwork and he will bless the work of your hands.

  84. Made this today with some tomato soup and boondi raita. It was a big hit! I made it with 1 cup of rice and 2 of mix veggies, which required 3 cups + 1 tablespoon of water. Sprinkled some cracked pepper when I was sauteeing the veggies for some more spice. Loved this recipe! Thanks so much for all the work you put into this site Dassana! I literally make something from it 3-4 evenings a week.

  85. I have tried most of your recipes and all have turned out superb you are really helping us to improve the taste in our kitchen. Wish you all the best and thank you

  86. Thanku so very much fr dis recipe… M a vry bad cook n nw m learin to cook. N my i tried ur pulav n my family loved it… Thnku so so so sooooo vry much

  87. Hi I always tried pulao and it always was a huge flop. But I must thank u immensely for the wonderful recipe that is bland enough for my sister and spicy enough for my husband. I tried adding a pich of pepper powder. It made it spicier but the pulao was simply delicious.thank u loads

    • bisi bele bath recipe is in the pipeline. just trying to get marathi moggu here… a special spice that is used in bisi bele bath powder blend. its not easily available here. if not, then i will have to make without it.

  92. Hey,Dassana this recipe was really helpful for me..
    Ma first time made pulav really rocked..
    Thanks a ton..