-
Heat 3 tablespoons of oil (or a mixture of oil and ghee if not vegan) in the inner pot of Instant Pot on “Sauté”
-
When the oil is hot, add 1 teaspoon jeera/cumin seeds, 3-4 cloves, 1 small piece of cinnamon and 2 green cardamoms.
-
Let it aromatize the oil for a few seconds and then sprinkle ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon black pepper powder and 3 teaspoons coriander powder. Stir to coat with oil and fry a bit.
-
Add the tomato puree.
-
Mix well and sauté or fry, stirring continuously until the oil starts to separate from the mixture.
-
Toss in the drained basmati rice along with grated ginger (1 teaspoon) and mix.
-
Fry this on medium heat, stirring often to toast the rice a bit, scraping the bottom as you do.
-
When fairly toasted, add the veggies (fresh or frozen) and ½ cup yogurt if using. Mix well.
-
Add 2 cups hot water and 1 ½ teaspoons or to taste salt.
-
Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot while mixing as you do not want burnt or stuck portions at the bottom; they will burn in your stove top pressure cooker and give a “BURN” signal on your instant pot while pressure cooking.
-
Turn the sauté button off, TURN THE VENT TO SEAL and pressure cook on “HIGH” for exactly 5 minutes.
-
After 5 minutes, press “cancel” button and NPR (naturally pressure release) for about 10 minutes.
-
(If using stove top pressure cooker, let the pressure drop naturally).
-
After 10 minutes, QPR or quickly release the pressure manually in the Instant Pot.
-
Let the pulao sit in the pot for a good 15 minutes to allow for any excess moisture to be absorbed and then open.
-
Fluff the pulao gently using a spatula, taking care not to break the rice grains as much as possible.
-
That is it! Time to dig into mouthwatering, mildly spiced yet super delicious and quick to make satvik vegetable pulao.
-
This easy dish makes for a perfect lunch or dinner dish and perfect as a lunchbox option too.
-
Enjoy!