is my go-to rice recipe when I make a time-consuming side dish, especially for guests. In general, I love pulao recipes on a busy day because unlike the South Indian food that I usually cook, pulao makes for great one pot meals if you add enough vegetables to it, or it makes for a very quick main when you are toiling over a more complicated and richer side dish like, say,
When she visited me over Christmas last year, my sister got me a bag of fresh green peas. I am very used to the frozen ones and had even begun to accept them as very good but these plump fresh ones were in a different league. Mildly sweet, firm, and a lovely green, it was a pleasure to bite into them in this peas pulao where they are really the star. I kept all other spices to a minimum so the peas flavour can shine through.
There are a few different ways to make peas pulao. The usual method I follow is to cook the rice separately in my rice cooker, toast the spices and cook the pas in a pan and mix the rice in towards the end. This is the method I generally use to cook pulao but I have also given instructions below to make peas pulao in your pressure cooker and rice cooker too. That way it truly becomes an easy, one pot rice recipe.
PEAS PULAO (MATAR PULAO) RECIPE
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
4 cups of cooked rice
1 cup of green peas, fresh or frozen
2 tbsp of ghee
1 tsp of cumin seeds
2" piece of cinnamon
A few cloves
2-3 green cardamom seeds
1-2 star anise
1 bay leaf
INSTRUCTIONS:
Cook the rice and set aside. Check this post to see
how to cook basmati rice for pulao.
Heat the ghee in a pan and add all the spices. On low heat, let the spices heat up until nice and fragrant (around 1-2 mins).
Add the peas and mixed well. Add 1/4 cup water and cook covered until the peas are soft.
Note that if you are using fresh peas, it will take a bit longer to cook than frozen ones so add 1/2 cup water and cook covered until the peas are soft and all the water is absorbed.
Now add rice and salt. Mix well until all the ingredients are well combined. Keep covered until ready to serve.
Pressure cooker method to make Peas Pulao
- Soak 2 cups uncooked basmati rice in water for 30 minutes
- In a pressure pan, add the ghee and spices. Let them roast until fragrant
- Now add the peas and soaked rice along with required amount of salt
- Top up with about 4.5 cups water and close the pressure cooker lid
- Cook for 20 minutes or until the cooker whistles twice
- Turn off heat and wait for the pressure to leave the cooker
- Gently mix the rice when still warm and set aside until ready to serve
Rice cooker method to make Peas Pulao
If your rice cooker can be turned on and kept open, you can follow the same instructions as the pressure cooker method except that you would use your rice cooker pan.
Due to my personal preference, I do the pre-cooking on the stove and then transfer to the rice cooker for final cooking of the dish. Here are the steps:
- Soak 2 cups uncooked basmati rice in water for 30 minutes
- In a pan, add the ghee and roast all the spices
- Transfer this ghee and spice mixture to the rice cooker vessel and add the peas, uncooked rice, and salt
- Add 4.5 cups water (or the usual amount you use in your rice cooker to cook rice)
- Cook until done, this is usually automatic in a rice cooker
You can also use the first method I've described and cook the rice along with the peas in the covered pan. This will take a lot longer though so keep an eye on the rice by stirring occasionally.
No matter what method you choose, peas pulao is one of the easiest pulao recipes. Enjoy!
, and I received a review copy. The book begins with stories about three generations and five different kitchens and the types of cooking in each. The goal for mother and daughter was to keep the flavors from the past while fine-tuning approaches to arrive at healthy dishes for celebrations and every day. They’ve written of the historical complexity of the kitchen for many African-American families. “(The kitchen) has been a place of servitude and scarcity, and sometimes violence, as well as a place of solace, shelter, creativity, commerce, and communion.” When excess appeared in the kitchen, foods began causing illness rather than nourishing families. The authors want to change that pattern by offering dishes that are easy to make part of your home-cooking routine and are free of guilt. The Soups chapter begins with a few homemade broths, and one of them is Sweet Potato Broth. It’s a puree of cooked sweet potatoes in water with onion, celery, and carrot, and it sounds like a delicious base for lots of soups. It’s used in the Sweet Potato, Kale, and Black-Eyed Pea Soup and the Peanut Chicken Stew. There are several fresh and light salads like Savory Avocado Salad with Corn, Peppers, and Cilantro and New-School “Fruit” Salad with watermelon, cherry tomatoes, avocados, and feta. There are also updates to dishes made with practical ingredients like canned fish. The story behind the Salmon Croquettes with Dill Sauce brought back memories of the mackerel cakes my Mom used to make that I loved. Likewise, there’s a story about how eating sardines used to be thought of as a hardship, but now we know that they’re a healthy and sustainable choice. The recipes nicely weave together the best of the past with a health-conscious look forward. 
