Vegetable Pulao - 5 Star Style and a Me-Me

Home made pulaos. There’s something so homely about them. Despite the masala and the grinding, I just love sitting down for a meal with freshly made pulao in front of me. The 5 star pulao is a different species altogether. Pristine white, picture perfect, with just a few vegetables that add a dash of colour. It is a dish that goes well with just about anything. And that is the catch. I like my food to be one dish meals as long as I am the one making it. When someone else is cooking, I am a different animal.


This is beautiful party dish and I make it for all the parties that I don’t throw and serve it to all my guests who aren’t there. And so as you can see from my photograph, this, too, has become a lunchbox item. Amma loves this pulao and it is thanks to her that I gave it its name. There are those who call this fried rice. Now, to me, fried rice is Chinese and my 5 star pulao is Indian. And I was just telling a friend recently, I still can’t tell the difference between a pulao and a biryani.


This goes very well with dal of any kind, but I packed it with some spicy raita. And I always add as many vegetables as I can. So my pulao isn’t the white picture perfect thing you are served in the buffets of 5 star hotels. It has far less white and more than just a dash of colour.


1 cup Basmati Rice
1 cup Carrot, cut in long pieces
1 cup Beans, cut in long pieces
1 cup Peas
1 tbsp Oil
5 Cloves
2” stick of Cinnamon
3 Cardamoms
1 tsp Peppercorns
Salt to taste



Heat the oil in a pressure pan. Add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and peppercorns and fry for a minute. Add the vegetables and fry for another minute. Add the rice and salt and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add 1 ¾ cup hot water and cook on a slow flame for 1 whistle. When done, fluff the rice a little and serve.

Easy breezy 5 star pulao. If you pack it in your box, and have a microwave at work, make sure to pack lots because people are going to be queuing up at your table as the aroma of your pulao draws them there. (Picture Jerry wafting in the air following the smell of cheese! Yeah yeah, Tom and Jerry still crack me up.) But you do get the picture, don't you?

Sig of Live to Eat has tagged me for the Fantastic Four Meme.

4 Places I’ve lived:

The 4 that I have the fondest memories of:

Chennai , India
Bangalore , India
Hyderabad, India
Poughkeepsie, USA

4 Jobs I’ve had:

The 4 that shaped me:

HR Head
Translator/Interpreter
Music Instructor and Teacher
Cashier

4 Favorite places I’ve holidayed:

Orlando – For the best childhood memory
Singapore – For everything it meant to me
Paris – For the sights, the food and the people
Coorg/Manali - For not being able to decide where I had more fun.

4 Favorite foods:

Pizza: the way Amma makes it
Paruppu Urundai and Vazhaippoo Paruppu Usli
Dali Saar and Avrya Bendi
Mushroom Alfredo Pasta

4 Places I’d rather be:

Somewhere in the mountains
At the beach (even Elliots will do!)
Home having a drink
My workplace is fine. I love it here.

4 bloggers I like to tag:

Nandita
Sia
Asha

Lakshmi