Brown Rice Vegetable Pulao is a perfect example of how we try to make recipes healthier, either by changing ingredients or cooking process or both. Before I discovered brown rice several years ago, my go to rice for pulao (or biryani) has always been basmati rice. It is easy to understand why. The long grain is very fragrant and has a nice fluffy texture that is hard to beat. Brown rice, on the other hand, does not have any fragrance, it is thick and chewy. It’s health benefits against basmati rice though, are not comparable. So, you can imagine why I wanted to cook this recipe with brown rice and see if I could make it almost as delicious as a traditional pulao.
Pilaf or pulao is probably one of the oldest dishes that seem to have existed through large parts of the world, in central Asia, in the old Persian empire, and in the later Ottoman empire. In the ancient world, basmati rice, which is native to India traveled westwards, where it became entrenched in the Persian culinary tradition.
How is Pulao different from Biryani?
Pulao is made by sautéing the ingredients (rice and meat or vegetables) together, then cooking in a predetermined quantity of water. Biryani is a dish where the rice and meat or vegetable is first partially cooked separately, then layered and cooked on low flame with other ingredients. Biryani is more complicated than pulao because of the layered cooking process. According to Wikipedia, the word “biryani” is an Urdu word derived from the Persian language. Check out our Chicken Biryani recipe to see how layered cooking is done.
Cooking Methods for This Recipe
You can cook this pulao two ways. One way is to cook vegetables and spices in a pan separately. Then, cook brown rice by itself in a pressure cooker, let it cool. Finally, mix the two in a large bowl. By this process (described in this recipe), you can control how long you want to cook the vegetables. Cooking them for a shorter time will help retain nutrients and leave them crunchier.
The other method is to cook everything together. In this case, you sauté the vegetables in the pan for a very short while. Then add rice and cook all ingredients together in a rice cooker or pressure cooker. Rice and vegetables blend better with the spices in the second method.
Brown Rice Vegetable Pulao
I prefer to cook rice (my favorite brown rice is 24 Mantra Organic Hand Pounded Brown Rice) and vegetables separately and then mix them in a container. This turns out much better since vegetables are perfectly cooked (not mushy). Crushed green chili peppers and fresh mint add unique flavor to this dish. You don’t have to restrict yourself to my list of vegetables. You can add other vegetables like peas, edamame or cauliflower too. This one-dish meal that is typically served with Tomato Onion Raita. You could also try this with our delicious Mooli (Daikon Radish) Raita.
The hull and bran in brown rice provide “natural wholeness” to the grain and are rich in proteins, thiamine, calcium, magnesium, fiber, and potassium. The combination of vegetables used here also brings in a wealth of nutrients.
Try our other healthy and delicious brown rice/quinoa recipes:
- Brown Jeera Rice
- Jeera Quinoa
- Savory Brown Rice Pongal
- Brown Rice Khichdi
- Mexican Rice
- Quinoa Vegetable Pulao
- Egg Tomato Spicy Rice
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Brown Rice Vegetable Pulao
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Brown Rice - Uncooked
- 1/2 Cup Green Beans - Cut to 1/2 Inch pieces
- 1/4 Cup Carrots - Cut to 1/2 Inch pieces
- 1/4 Cup Tomato - Small Pieces
- 1/2 Cup Potato - Small Pieces
- 1/2 Cup Onion - Small Pieces
- 2 Chilis Green Chili Pepper - Medium, crushed
- 1/4 Cup Mint Leaves - Fine cut
- 1 Tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste - Fresh
- 1 Pinch Turmeric Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Garam Masala
- 1/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt - Or to Taste
- 1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil - Extra Virgin
- 1 Pinch Cumin Seeds
- 1 Stick Cinnamon - 1/2 inch
- 3 Cloves
Instructions
- Ensure you have the following ingredients handy before you start cooking, in addition to salt and oil (yeah, this is a long list): 1. Onion 2. Veggies (You can add other vegetables like peas, edamame or cauliflower too) 3. Crushed chili peppers mixed with ginger garlic blend 4. Whole spices: black cumin, cinnamon and cloves 5. Turmeric, garam masala 6. Fresh mint leaves (and stalks) fine cut 7. Pressure cooked brown rice (soak grains for a couple of hours and add salt and a tablespoon of oil before cooking)
- Heat oil, add whole spices, stir, add onion. Add ginger, garlic chili blend, mix well and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add turmeric, vegetables, salt, stir, set the lid and cook for a few minutes on low heat. Add garam masala, mix well and cook for a minute.
- Now add fresh mint and mix well.
- In a large bowl, mix rice and vegetables well. Pulao is ready to be served.
- Serve hot with Tomato Onion Raita. Yummy!
