Veg Green Pulao

About Veg Green Pulao

Veg Green Pulao (Hariyali Pulao, Chutney Pulao) is a delicious Indian rice dish where rice is cooked with aromatic spices, veggies, and freshly made green masala paste. It is super easy to make, very delicious, and healthy too!

If you have some leftover green chutney, use it instead of the green masala paste.

This green veg pulao is best served with boondi raita, roasted popadums (papad), and some sliced onions. Serve it for lunch or dinner, or pack it in the school and office lunchboxes.

This recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, and easily vegan.

Here are a few more rice recipes: Shrimp Pulao, Chicken Pulao, Mumbai Style Tawa Pulao, and Gucchi Pulao.

You must also try my Vegetable Dalia Khichdi, Peas Pulao, Raw Mango Rice, and South Indian Lemon Rice.

Ingredients

To Make The Green Paste

This pulao gets its unique flavor from the green masala paste made using fresh mint leaves, cilantro (fresh coriander leaves), fresh ginger, garlic, and green chilies.

Adjust the green chilies as per your taste.

You can also add some grated fresh coconut to this paste for a taste change.

For The Pulao

To make the green vegetable pulao recipe, you will need white rice, whole spices, spice powders, ghee, onions, veggies, lime juice, and salt.

Long grain basmati rice is the best choice, as it turns out aromatic, separate, and fluffy.

Whole spices such as cumin seeds, cloves (laung), green cardamoms (hari elaichi), black peppercorns (kali mirch), cinnamon sticks (dalchini), and bay leaves (tejpatta) lend a beautiful flavor when added to hot oil.

This pulao uses basic Indian spice powders such as coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder, and garam masala powder.

I prefer to make this pulao in ghee due to the flavor it lends to the rice. You can also make it in canola oil or olive oil instead.

Green peas, green beans, carrots, and potatoes are my favorite fresh vegetables to include in this pulao, but you can also add other veggies such as baby corn, bell peppers, mushrooms, cauliflower, and broccoli.

This chutney pulao is a great recipe for all the leftover veggies in the fridge.

How To Make Green Pulao

Make The Green Masala Paste

Add the following ingredients to a blender along with ¼ cup of water.

• 1 cup mint leaves, packed, rinsed
• 1 cup cilantro, packed, rinsed
• 2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
• 4-5 cloves of garlic (peeled)
• 3-4 green chilies

Blend to make a fine paste. Set it aside.

Make The Pulao

Rinse 1 and ½ cups of rice with water 2-3 times until the water runs clear. Soak the rice in 4-5 cups of water.

While the rice is soaking, make the pulao.

Heat 3 tablespoon ghee in a pan over medium heat.

Add the following ingredients once the ghee is hot, and let them crackle for 5-6 seconds.

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 3-4 cloves
• 2-3 whole green cardamoms
• 4-5 whole black peppercorns
• 2-inch piece of cinnamon stick

Add 1 cup chopped onions and cook until lightly browned (6-8 minutes), stirring frequently.

Add the following ingredients and cook for 10-12 seconds.

• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
• ½ teaspoon garam masala powder

Now add the following ingredients and cook for another minute.

• ½ cup green peas
• ½ cup chopped green beans
• ½ cup cubed carrots
• ½ cup cubed potatoes

Drain the water from the rice and add the soaked rice to the pan along with the following ingredients

• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 and ½ cups of water
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt

Add the green masala paste and stir gently.

Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and reduce the heat to low.

Cook undisturbed on low flame for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is tender and all the liquid is absorbed by it.

Remove the pan from heat and let it sit for 5 minutes.

Fluff the pulao gently using a fork and serve hot.

Pro Tips By Neha

The rice-to-water ratio is important in this recipe. If the quantity of water is too high, you will end up with mushy, sticky rice.

Cook the rice undisturbed on low flame to get the perfectly cooked grains.

Serving Suggestions

Hariyali Pulao tastes best with a bowl of plain yogurt (dahi) or raita such as Boondi Raita, Mooli Raita, Beetroot Raita, Lauki Ka Raita, or Carrot Raita.

Serve a roasted or fried papad, sliced onions, and lime wedges on the side.

This is also a great dish to pack for the lunch box.