Veg Pulao Recipe {2 ways} Mild & Spicy Vegetable Pulav

A perfect veg pulao recipe! Light and fluffy, never sticky, and deliciously tasty flavorful, plus it’s super easy to make. It is nothing but Indian style rice pilaf. The step by step photos will show you how to make pulao rice at home.

Here I am sharing 2 methods for making vegetable pulao. One is restaurant style, mild flavored, aromatic veg pulav. Second is full of spices (masala), homestyle, spicy veg pulao.

Which rice is best for pulao rice?

Always use good quality Basmati rice. Because basmati rice has long grains and is very fragrant once cooked. Aged basmati rice gives very good results. I have good experience with Tilda, Royal, and 24 Mantra organic basmati rice.

Here are the quick links to jump directly - 
version 1 (mild, aromatic)
version 2 (spicy).

Other two methods are also shared on the blog - veg pulao in pressure cooker (traditional stovetop) and Instant pot veg pulao.

Mild, Restaurant style Veg Pulao!

• This is one-pot method and requires a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. 
• Each and every rice grains are separated (non-sticky) and fluffy.
• Lots of whole spices are added which makes the pulao rice very aromatic and flavorful.
• When it comes to spice powders, only salt, pepper and garam masala are added.
• Instead of garam masala, you can use readymade or homemade pulao or biryani masala.
• You can double or triple the recipe. Always follow the 1:2 ratio of rice to water. Meaning you need 2 cups of water for every 1 cup of rice.

How to make Vegetable pulao (Hotel style)

1) Wash rice under running cold water till water runs clear. Or rinse the rice 2-3 times or till the water is not cloudy anymore. Then soak in enough water for 20 minutes.

2) After 20 minutes, drain the water.

3) While rice is soaking, let’s do the prep work. Chop all the veggies and keep them aside.

4) Also, keep whole spices ready.

5) Heat the oil in a saucepan on medium heat. Once hot add cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Then add whole spices (cinnamon stick, cloves, peppercorns, cardamom and bay leaf). Saute for a minute. You will get a nice aroma of the spices.

6) Add onions and cook for 2 minutes or till they get translucent or light pink in color.

7) Add ginger paste, garlic paste, and green chilies. Mix well and saute for a minute or till the raw smell of ginger garlic goes away.

8) Add tomato, cook for a minute.

9) Add the rest of the veggies (carrots, green beans, potato, peas). Mix well.

10) Add salt, pepper and garam masala. Stir well and cook for a minute.

11) Add lemon juice.

12) Mix in the soaked drained rice and saute the rice, veggies for 1-2 minutes.

13) Add water, crank the heat to high. Let the water come to a boil.

14) Once it starts boiling, LOWER the heat to lowest possible. Cover with the lid. Let it cook for 17-18 minutes.
NOTE: Do not peek or open the lid while it is cooking. Put the timer for 17 minutes. meantime do other tasks. e.g. make raita or salad to go with it or roast papad while pulao is cooking.

15) After 17 minutes, turn off the stove. Let it rest covered for 5 minutes. Then open the lid.
NOTE: Once pulao is cooked. It is important to let it rest for 5 minutes covered. Within this 5 minutes, rice grains will firm up. So they will not get mushy when you fluff up or stir.

16) Fluff up the rice with a fork and mix gently. So the rice grains do not break.

You can add chopped coriander leaves or mint leaves at the end. It gives very refreshing flavors. 

Spicy Veg Pulao (Masala Pulao)

This pulao recipe is different than usual vegetable pulao. All the time we make or get from the restaurants the mild flavored vegetable pulao. I have already shared that recipe above and it does not require any spice powders except a touch of garam masala. While this one uses basic Indian spice powders.

The name of the dish mentions ‘spicy’ term. But actually, this pulao is not that fiery spicy. The term is added here just to differentiate it from the regular veg pulao. mild vs spiced.

Any kind of pulao or mixed rice is good to pack in a lunch box. It works for both kids and adults. If making for kids then you can reduce the chili powder and green chili in the recipe.

Addition of veggies is up to you. You can add potato, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, baby corns. Only make sure that you cut the veggies of the desired size, so that can be boiled along with rice within 10-12 minutes. E.g. if using cauliflower, then cut into smaller florets. So it is cooked in 10-12 minutes.

How to make spicy veg pulao?

1) Wash the rice under running cold water till water runs clear. Soak them in enough water for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the veggies for pulao.

2) After soaking time, discard the water and let it drain.

3) Add the drained rice into a saucepan. Also add carrot, beans and green peas along with some salt.

4) Add water, turn the heat on medium. Once the water starts boiling, cook for 10-12 minutes or till the rice and veggies are soft and tender (not mushy). Do stir once or twice in between and make sure that it is not sticking to the bottom of the pan.

5) Drain all the water. Spread out the cooked rice and veggies on the plate. Let it cool down for 15-20 minutes. So it gets some time to firm up. And will not break while stirring with spices later on.

6) Heat the oil in a pan on medium. Once hot add cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Then add the cinnamon stick and cloves. Fry for 40-50 seconds, you will get a nice aroma of spices.

7) Then add Cashew nuts. Saute with stirring constantly till they get golden brown in color.

8) Add chopped onions. Sprinkle some salt to speed up the process. Be careful, we already added salt while cooking rice.

9) Saute the onions till they get translucent and soft.

10) Add ginger paste, garlic paste, and green chilies. Mix well and cook for a minute. Or till the raw smell of ginger-garlic goes away.

11) Then add chopped tomatoes and capsicum. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Tomatoes will get little soft.

12) Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, and garam masala. 

13) Mix well and cook for a minute.

14) Then add cooked rice-veggies and chopped cilantro.

15) Mix well very gently so rice grains do not break too much. Make sure that all the masala is coated to the rice. Let the rice get heat up for 2 minutes. Then turn off the stove.

What to serve with Pulav Rice?

• It can be a light meal or perfect as a lunch box with raita or yogurt.
• Both pulav can be served with any raita recipes like boondi raita, onion tomato raita, palak raita or mint raita.
• It can be served with plain yogurt as well.
• Also, serve roasted papad on the side for some crunch.
• The masala pulao is already spiced and flavorful, you can have it as such without any side.
• Mild flavored pulao tastes good with kadhi. Many like it with dal fry or dal tadka.

Check out more different pulao recipes
Green peas pulao // Paneer pulao // Kashmiri pulao // Mushroom pulao // Capsicum pulao // Tawa pulav // Mint pulao