Beetroot Pulao with mixed Vegetables

It's been over a month since my last post. I can attribute it to nothing but heat, laziness and of course, my travels. With so many recipes in the backlog, I must be more diligent but sometimes laziness just rules :) Anyway, better late than never.

You can love it, you can hate it, but ignoring the bright vibrant magenta vegetable is very difficult. I hate the way it colours almost everything it touches from my chopping board to my hands. But its earthy sweetness lets me forget this. I generally just stick to the simple beetroot palya or sambhar. But this time thought of doing something different. I assumed a beetroot pulao would end up being red and sweet. I was wrong on both accounts. The colour is actually due to turmeric and spices rather than the beetroot and the taste was very earthy rather than sweet. I added other vegetables because I had them. You can add any vegetable you like or skip them altogether. This is one simple one-pot meal I've made multiple times...

Beetroot Pulao with mixed Vegetables

Pilaf / Pulao made with beetroot and other mixed vegetables.
Recipe Type:  Main Course
Cuisine:          Indian
Prep Time:     30 minutes
Cook time:     30 minutes
Yield:              2-3 Servings

Ingredients:

3/4 cup peeled and cubed Beetroot
3-4 Babycorn
1 small Capsicum
1 Onion
1/4 cup Green Peas
50gms Paneer (cut into small cubes)
1/2" piece or 1 tsp paste of Ginger
2-3 cloves or 1 tsp paste of Garlic
3/4 cup Rice (uncooked)
1 Bay leaf
1 tsp Cumin seeds
2-3 dry Red Chillies (as per taste)
1 Tbsp Coriander Seeds
1/2" piece Cinnamon
1-2 Clove
1 Cardamom
A pinch Nutmeg
1 cup Water
1/2 cup Milk
3 tsp Oil
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 Maggi magic cube (veg)
Salt


Method:

• Wash the rice 2-3 times. Soak the rice in the 1 cup of water and keep aside.
• Dry roast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, cardamom, nutmeg and red chillies until slightly brown.
• Remove from heat and allow it to cool.
• Grind into a fine powder. You can store this powder in an airtight box for 1-2 months.
• Heat the oil in a pressure cooker.
• Add chopped onions and fry until translucent
• Crush the ginger and garlic into a paste and fry along with the onions until fragrant.
• Add the pulao powder and mix well
• Add all the vegetables and mic well. Stir fry for around 30-60 secs.
• Add the rice along with the water.
• Add the milk.
• Add the turmeric powder, maggi cube and salt.
• Pressure cook for 3 whistles.
• As soon as you can open the cooker, fluff the rice with a fork to prevent it from forming a sticky mess.
• Serve hot with some cool raita.

Note:

1) If you are in a hurry, you can replace the pulao powder with 1/2 tsp or more of garam masala or store bought biryani or pulao masala
2) The vegetables used here are optional. You can replace it with anything available and still have a wonderful pulao. By anything available, I mean any of the traditional vegetables used for pulao/biryani and not vegetables like brinjal/eggplant, okra which may mush up on cooking.
3) Maggi's magic cube is a taste enhancer. You can replace it with a pinch of ajinomoto or skip it all together. It is better to skip this if you plan on giving this to kids.