Winter Special Matar Pulao Recipe
Ingredients
1) 8 cups water
2) 4 cups basmati rice
3) 1/2 onion (sliced thin)
4) 7-8 garlic cloves (sliced)
5) 1-inch ginger piece (sliced)
6) 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
7) 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
8) 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
9) 4-5 cloves
10) 5-7 green cardamoms
11) 2-3 bay leaves (broken)
12) 1 tablespoon fennel seeds (saunf)
13) 2 large cardamoms (crushed)14) 3-4 cinnamon sticks
15) 1 tablespoon salt
16) 1 cup ghee (or oil)
17) 3 large onions (thinly sliced)
18) 3 medium potatoes (cut into small pieces)
19) 2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
20) 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
21) 5-7 green chilies (chopped)
22) 2 large tomatoes (roughly chopped)
23) 2 cups frozen peas (or fresh)
24) 3/4 cup yogurt (whisked)
25) 7 cups prepared yakhni (broth)
26) Fresh coriander leaves
27) Fresh mint leaves
28) 1 tablespoon salt (adjust to taste)
29) 1/2 lemon (juice)
30) Fried onions (for garnish)
Let’s Start Recipe
Today, we will be making a **delicious and aromatic Winter Special Matar Pulao**. It’s a very easy recipe to prepare, and you can make it in no time! You can serve it with **kachumber** (salad) or **raita**.
The recipe is very simple, but the flavor is absolutely amazing. You can prepare it for **lunch**, **dinner**, or even pack it in your **lunch box**. Let’s get started!
Step 1: Preparing the Broth (Yakhni)
First, take a **kadhai** (wok) and add **8 cups of water**. I am using **4 cups of rice**, so the water will be double the amount of rice. This will be the base for our flavorful broth (yakhni).
Add the following ingredients to the water:
1) 1/2 onion** thinly sliced
2) 7-8 garlic cloves**, sliced
3) 1-inch piece of ginger**, sliced
Now, we will add the following whole spices:
1) 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2) 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
3) 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
4) 4-5 cloves
5) 5-7 green cardamoms
6) 2-3 bay leaves (broken into pieces)
7) 1 tablespoon fennel seeds (saunf, which will give a great aroma)
8) 2 large cardamoms**, crushed
9) 3-4 pieces of cinnamon sticks
10) 1 tablespoon salt
Turn the gas to **high heat**, and mix everything together. We’ll cook this on high heat until the water starts boiling. Once it starts boiling, cover the pot and reduce the flame to **low**. Let it cook for **8-10 minutes** on low heat so the flavors of all the spices infuse into the water.
After 10 minutes, we will strain the spices and keep the **flavored broth (yakhni)** aside for later use. Discard the spices as their flavor has already infused into the water.
Step 2: Preparing the Pulao
Now, let’s move on to cooking the actual pulao
Take another pot and add **1 cup of ghee** (clarified butter). You can use oil instead of ghee if you prefer. Heat the ghee on **high heat**. Once the ghee is hot, add **3 large onions**, thinly sliced. Fry the onions on **medium-high heat** while stirring continuously until they turn **golden brown**. This will give us a crispy onion topping for the pulao. Once the onions are golden, drain the ghee and keep the fried onions aside on a plate, spreading them out so they cool down quickly.
Step 3: Cooking the Vegetables
Now, in the same ghee, add **3 medium-sized potatoes**, cut into small pieces. Fry the potatoes for **4-5 minutes** on medium flame until they get a nice color and are about **50% cooked**. This will enhance the flavor.
Next, add **2 teaspoons of ginger-garlic paste** and fry it with the potatoes for **1-2 minutes** to eliminate the raw taste of the ginger and garlic.
Now, add **1 teaspoon cumin seeds** and **5-7 green chilies**, chopped. Stir everything well and cook for **half a minute**.
Add **2 large tomatoes**, roughly chopped (don’t chop them too fine), and **2 cups of frozen peas** (you can use fresh peas as well). Mix everything well and cook on medium flame for **3-4 minutes** until the tomatoes soften and the peas cook through. You don’t need to cook the tomatoes completely, just enough to soften them.
Step 4: Adding Yogurt
Now, reduce the flame to **low** and add **3/4 cup of yogurt** (whisked). Mix it well and cook it for **2-3 minutes** on medium-high heat until the yogurt loses its raw flavor.
Step 5: Adding the Broth and Cooking the Rice
Once the yogurt is cooked, add the prepared **yakhni** (broth) to the pot. I used **8 cups of water** for the broth, and after boiling, it reduced by 1 cup, so we have about **7 cups of yakhni**.
Since we are using **4 cups of rice**, the liquid to rice ratio is usually **1:2**, but I’m adding **one cup less** because I soaked the rice for **1 hour** beforehand.
Add some **fresh coriander leaves**, **mint leaves**, and **1 tablespoon of salt** (adjust to taste). You can also add the juice of **half a lemon** to make the rice fluffy and flavorful.
Now, give it a quick stir. Once the water comes to a boil, add the **soaked rice** (drained of excess water). Gently stir the rice to mix it with the broth.
Step 6: Cooking the Pulao
Cover the pot and cook on **medium-high flame** for **8-10 minutes** until most of the water evaporates and the rice is partially cooked.
Once the rice is nearly done, reduce the flame to **low**, and add the fried onions, some **coriander**, and **mint leaves** on top of the rice.
Cover the pot with a **cloth** (dum) and cook for an additional **10-15 minutes** on **low heat**. After 10 minutes, turn off the flame but don’t open the lid immediately. Let it sit for a few minutes before opening.
Step 7: Serving
After 10 minutes, open the lid to reveal your **aromatic, fluffy, and flavorful Matar Pulao**. The aroma will be amazing, and the taste will be absolutely **delicious**.
Serve this pulao hot with **kachumber** (salad) or **raita** for a perfect meal. It’s easy to make and incredibly tasty!
Thank You….♥️