Kashmiri Pulao Recipe
Do you want something vibrant, crunchy, sweet, and savoury? Try Kashmiri Pulao! It is more than a dish: it’s an aromatic journey through the spectacular valleys of Kashmir. With the gentle blend of warm spices, basmati rice, and an assortment of dried fruits and nuts, Kashmiri Pulao celebrates sweetness and savoury flavours. The Kashmiri Pulao recipe mesmerises everyone with gentle flavours and vibrant colours, often blended with kesar, also called saffron, and garnished with pomegranate seeds. The meal is perfect for festive treats or when you crave something different.
So, are you all set to add a royal touch to your food? Therefore, let’s bring the essence of Kashmir to your dining table. But how? Here’s a checklist of ingredients and a step-by-step guide on how to cook Kashmiri Pulao exclusively for you!
Kashmiri Pulao Recipe: Ingredients
Before learning how to cook Kashmiri Pulao, let’s take a sneak peek at the required ingredients. The ingredients needed to cook the delicious dish are as follows:
- 1 cup basmati rice or any other Keshar Kali rice
- ¼ cup of milk
- 1 and ¾ cups of water
- 10 strands of saffron
- 1 medium-sized onion, chopped horizontally
- ¾ teaspoon of roasted cumin powder
- Salt according to your taste
To Temper
- 1 or 2 tablespoons of ghee
- ½ tablespoon of cold-pressed edible oil
- 3 ¼ inch piece of cinnamon
- 2 cloves
- 1 bay leaf or tej patta
- ½ a teaspoon of fennel seeds
- 1 cardamom
- 1 star anise or javithri
Fruits & Dry Fruits & Nuts
- ½ cup of pineapple, chopped
- ½ cup of pomegranate seeds
- 20 cashews
- 15 almonds
- 10 to 12 walnuts
- 2 tablespoons of raisins
- 2 tablespoons of sliced apples
A Step-By-Step Guide to the Kashmiri Pulao Recipe
So, do you have all the ingredients? If not, shop now and gather all the ingredients. When you are ready with the ingredients, coming up next is the recipe for the Kashmiri Pulao. Be ready, and let’s get started:
Step 1 – Preparation
- Wash Basmati rice or any type of Keshar Kali rice and soak them for 20 to 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, drain out the water.
- Meanwhile, cut an onion and gently squeeze it to separate the layers.
- In a small bowl, heat up some milk. Once heated, add saffron strands. Stir well and give some for soaking. In the meantime, crush some fennel seeds and set them aside.
Step 2: Making Kashmiri Pulao
- In a kadhai or pot, heat 1 tablespoon of oil or ghee. Add nuts and fry them till the colour changes.
- Add raisins and fry them till they swell, and move the fried nuts and raisins to a plate.
- In the same utensil, heat a tablespoon of ghee and toss in sliced onions and fry them till they turn golden. Then keep them aside.
- Transfer the excess oil of ghee from the kadhai or pot, fried nuts and onions into a pressure cooker. You can also use the same utensil. Do whatever you prefer. Toss in the following ingredients and fry them till they turn aromatic:
- 3 ¼ inch piece of cinnamon
- 2 cloves
- ¾ teaspoon of roasted cumin powder
- 1 bay leaf or tej patta
- ½ a teaspoon of fennel seeds
- 1 cardamom
- 1 star anise or javithri
- Add the washed rice, salt according to taste, a bit of sugar or jaggery, and half a tablespoon of ghee and fry all the ingredients for approximately 2 to 3 minutes.
- Pour the kesar-infused milk and water. If you are lactose-intolerant, you can skip milk and directly add saffron strands. Mix well.
- Close the lid of the pressure cooker and let the mixture cook on a medium flame for 1 whistle. If you cook in a pot or kadhai, bring water to a rolling boil and reduce the flame. Cover the utensil and cook till the rice is properly cooked.
- Once the pressure decreases, uncover the utensil and fluff the cooked rice with a fork. Transfer the cooked rice to a bowl, and now it’s time for garnishing.
Step 3: Garnishing
- When the rice is cooking, heat another 2 tablespoons of ghee in a frying pan. Add a few sliced onions, and fry them till they become caramelised and crisp.
- Move the onions to a plate and add almonds, walnuts and cashews. Fry them till they become crispy, crunchy, and a light brown colour.
- When the rice is properly cooked, shift it to a serving bowl. Top the cooked rice with fried walnuts, cashews, almonds, pomegranate seeds, apple cubes, and pineapple pieces.
- Your tasty Kashmiri Pulao is ready to be served. Enjoy it or serve the dish with dal makhni, cucumber raita, paneer curry, pickles, vegetable curry, or any other raita.
Instant Pot Kashmiri Pulao Recipe
Can you make Kashmiri Pulao in an Instant Pot? Of course, you can! Below is the step-by-step recipe for Kashmiri Pulao in an Instant Pot:
- Press the Saute Mode on your Instant Pot and follow the steps discussed above. When frying the onions, switch to Saute Low so the onions don’t burn.
- Pressure cook rice for 5 minutes and then let it sit for some time so the pressure can release itself naturally. Wait for at least 5 to 6 minutes.
- Open the lid of the Instant Pot and fluff the cooked rice using a fork or spatula. Shift the cooked rice to a serving bowl and garnish it with fresh fruits and fried onions, and nuts as discussed above.
Conclusion:
Kashmiri Pulao proves that elegance lies in simplicity. With tender spices, rich texture, and bursts of sweetness, it transforms an ordinary dish into something absolutely enchanting. Whether you relish Kashmiri Pulao on its own or with curries, raita, and pickles, the meal brings warmth, colour, and tradition in every bite. The Kashmiri Pulao recipe makes you go slow, enjoy and share. Therefore, what are you waiting for? Go ahead, plate it up, sprinkle the nuts, and allow the fragrance to speak and show the magic. Every meal turns into a celebration with Kashmiri Pulao!
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