Vegetable Rice Pilaf or Pulao is an easy one-pot rice dish mixed with a variety of vegetables and mildly flavored with various spices. We will make this in the Instant Pot. You can also use the same recipe to make it in a traditional pressure cooker. As you can imagine, this is a one-pot dish, and hence it is super quick and easy. I make this on any day after I come back from work and don’t have much time to get dinner on the table.
The best part is that this is not only a quick meal, it is also very nutritious similar to Spinach Rice and Khichdi. We are adding loads of vegetables, and you can choose to add veggies of your choice. I added a mix of carrots, green beans, green peas, edamame, and corn.
Prep Time:5minutes minutes
Cook Time:20minutes minutes
Total Time:25minutes minutes
Servings:4
Tips to Make Perfect Rice Pilaf in Instant Pot
1.I usually don’t use the rice mode in the instant pot to make basmati rice. Instead, the manual mode works perfectly and also takes less time. But don’t forget to give some time, about 10 minutes, before you release the pressure manually (5 minutes NPR).
2.Follow the time and do not overcook. I personally prefer each grain of rice to be perfectly cooked and separated. It should not be mushy.
3.In this recipe, I have used frozen vegetables. But you can also use fresh vegetables.
4.Add roasted cashews for additional goodness. You can add them before pressure cooking to the rice.
Ingredients
▢1 cup Basmati Rice, (1 cup=250ml) rinsed
▢1 tablespoon Ghee or Oil
▢1 Green Chili Pepper, (optional)
▢1/2 cup Onion, sliced
▢1/2 tablespoon Ginger, minced
▢1/2 tablespoon Garlic, minced
▢1/2 cup Tomato, chopped
▢1 Potato , medium, cut into small peices
▢2 cups Mixed Vegetables, (Carrots, Green Beans, Peas, Corn, Edmame) frozen or fresh
▢1 1/4 cup Water
Spices
1/2 teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
▢1/2 teaspoon Cayenne or Red Chili powder
▢1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala
▢1 teaspoon Salt
Whole Spices
1 Bay leaf (Tez Patta)
▢1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
▢1 stick Cinnamon (Dalchini)
▢1 Star anise
▢4 Cloves (Laung)
Instructions
1.Start the instant pot in sauté mode and heat it. Add ghee, whole spices and sauté them for 30 seconds until the cumin seeds change colour.
2.After they start to splutter, add the green chili, onion, ginger and garlic. Sauté for 2 minutes until onion turn transparent.
3.Add tomato and spices. Mix well.
4.Add potato and mixed vegetables. Mix well.
5.Add the rice and water. Mix the rice with the vegetables. If anything is stuck to the bottom of the pot, deglaze it. Close the lid with vent in sealing position.
6.Change the instant pot setting to MANUAL or pressure cook mode for 4 minutes at high pressure.
7.When the instant pot beeps, do a 10 minute NPR. This means let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then release the pressure manually.
8.Fluff the rice gently. Vegetable Pilaf is ready. Enjoy with homemade yogurt or raita.
Note: Remove the insert from the instant pot, so the lower layer of rice does not overcook from the hot base.
Notes
1.Adding whole spices is optional. You can enjoy this vegetable pilaf even if you don’t have all the whole spices in your pantry.
2.To reduce spice, skip the cayenne.
3.Stovetop Variation: If you don’t have an instant pot, you could also prepare this vegetable pulao in the stovetop pressure cooker. I suggest one whistle for the rice, and let the pressure release naturally.
4.Vegan Variation: Use your favorite vegetable oil to make this pilaf.
5.This recipe was created in a 6qt Instant Pot DUO60 Multi-use Pressure Cooker.
Nutrition
| Nutrient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | 286 kcal |
| Carbohydrates | 55.9 g |
| Protein | 6.3 g |
| Fat | 4.1 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3.1 g |
| Sodyum | 609 mg |
| Potassium | 458 |
| ———— | ————– |
| Fiber | 4.9 g |
| Sugar | 3.2 g |
| Calcium | 40 mg |
| Iron | 2 mg |