Pudina rice (mint rice) is a delicious one-pot South Indian recipe made using rice, mint, veggies, and a few spices. Serve it with raita for a comforting meal.
If you like this pudina rice, then try a few more of my favorite South Indian rice recipes – Curd Rice, South Indian Tomato Rice, South Indian Lemon Rice, Ellu Sadam, Palak Rice, Raw Mango Rice, Turmeric Rice, and South Indian Coconut Rice.
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About This Recipe
Pudina is mint in Hindi. Pudina rice (mint rice or pudina pulao) is a fragrant South Indian recipe where rice is cooked along with a mint coconut paste, vegetables, and whole spices. It is one-pot, flavorsome, and comes together in just 30 minutes.
This simple, healthy, and wholesome rice dish is loaded with vegetables making it a perfect meal to serve your family. If you want to let the mint flavor shine even more, then you can skip adding the veggies as their addition changes the taste a little bit.
Serve this vegan and gluten-free pudina rice for a simple lunch or dinner with any curry, raita, pickle, or papad, or pack it in the lunch box.
Ingredients
For the mint coconut paste – You will need fresh mint leaves, cilantro (coriander), red onion, green chili peppers, fresh ginger, garlic, fresh coconut, and water.
Adjust the amount of green chili peppers depending upon how spicy you want it to be. Use fresh coconut for the best taste. If you do not have fresh coconut, you can use desiccated coconut too. Buy already grated fresh coconut to save time. You will find it in the refrigerator section of the grocery stores.
Mint grows on the ground and has a lot of dirt on the leaves. It must be cleaned very well before using in the recipes. Start by discarding the thick stems as they are bitter in taste. Tender ones can be kept. Now fill a big pot with water and soak the leaves undisturbed for 1 minute. The dirt will start to settle on the bottom of the pot and leaves will float on top. Very gently (without much stirring the water), remove the leaves on a colander and discard the water with the dirt. Repeat the process until the water runs clear.
If you have excess of mint leaves, you can dry and powder them and keep using for a long time. Wash the leaves well and spread them on a kitchen cloth for 2-3 hours to get rid of any excess moisture. Spread the leaves on a large baking tray and cover with a muslin cloth. Keep the tray in shade for 1-3 days until the leaves are completely dry. Add the dry leaves to a grinder and grind to make fine powder. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 months.
It is best to use fresh mint to make this mint-flavored rice, but you can definitely use mint powder too. Use 1 tablespoon powder for 1 cup of rice.
Rice – This dish tastes good with any variety of rice. Since South Indians traditionally use short grain Sona Masuri rice, I too made it using the same but feel free to use any rice that you have handy.
Whole Spices – Adding whole spices such as cumin seeds, cloves, and black peppercorns gives a nice aroma and flavor.
Cashew Nuts – They are rich in protein and also add a nice crunch.
Vegetables – I added potatoes, carrots, beans, and peas. You can add any veggies that you prefer. It is also a great way to use up all the leftover veggies sitting in your fridge. You can totally skip the veggies and make the pulao with a more prominent mint favor.
Oil – You can use any vegetable oil of your choice. For a richer taste, you can even make this pulao in ghee.
Others – A few more ingredients required to make this mixed rice are onion, tomato and salt.
How to Make Pudina Rice
Add 1 cup mint leaves, 2 tablespoon cilantro, ¼ cup chopped onions, 1-inch piece of ginger (chopped), 5-6 peeled whole garlic cloves, 2 teaspoon chopped green chili peppers, and ¼ cup grated fresh coconut to a blender.
Add ¼-cup water and blend to make a smooth paste. Set aside. Do not add more water otherwise, the final rice dish will turn out mushy.
Wash 1 cup rice 2-3 times with water until the water runs clear. Soak it 3-4 cups of water and set aside.
Pudina rice in an instant pot:
Press SAUTE button and vegetable oil in a pot over high heat.
When the oil is hot, add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, 2-3 cloves, 4-5 whole black peppercorns, and 8-10 whole cashew nuts and fry for 1-2 minutes until the cashew nuts turn slightly browned. Keep stirring.
Add ½ cup sliced onions, ¼ cup chopped tomatoes, and the mint coconut paste that we made earlier and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Add ¼ cup peeled and cubed potatoes, ¼ cup cubed carrots, ¼ cup chopped green beans, and ¼ cup green peas and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Drain the rice and add it to the pot along with 1 cup of water and salt and stir gently. The rice and water ratio is different when cooking in an instant pot. Add 1 cup rinsed rice and 1 cup of water to the pot.
Close the lid and set the valve to the sealing position. Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 6 minutes on high pressure.
Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Release the remaining pressure manually and open the lid.
Fluff the rice and serve!
Pudina rice on a stove top:
Heat 4 tablespoon vegetable oil in a pot over high heat.
When the oil is hot, add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, 2-3 cloves, 4-5 whole black peppercorns, and 8-10 whole cashew nuts and fry for 1-2 minutes until the cashew nuts turn slightly browned. Keep stirring.
Add ½ cup sliced onions, ¼ cup chopped tomatoes, and the mint coconut paste that we made earlier and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Add ¼ cup peeled and cubed potatoes, ¼ cup cubed carrots, ¼ cup chopped green beans, and ¼ cup green peas and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Drain the rice and add it to the pot along with 2 cups of water and salt and stir gently.
Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and reduce the heat to low. Cook until the rice is tender and all the water has been absorbed (20-25 minutes).
Remove the pan from the heat and let the rice rest for 5 minutes. Open the lid and fluff the rice gently using a fork. Serve hot!
Pro Tips By Neha
- You can use any vegetables of your choice to add to pudina rice. I have added potato, carrot, beans, and peas but you can also add cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, etc.
- Make it protein-rich by adding tofu, cooked chickpeas, or paneer.
- Try adding some fried or grilled chicken to make chicken pudina rice.
- Do not overcook the masala paste otherwise it will turn dark in color.
- Cook the rice in thin coconut milk instead of water for a richer and more prominent coconut taste.
- You can use other grains like quinoa, couscous, foxtail millets, little millet, or brown rice in place of white rice. Keep in consideration that the cooking time will defer for each grain.
Frequently Asked Questions
To make this rice dish in a traditional Indian-style pressure cooker, follow the recipe until adding the rice and water. Then close the lid of the cooker and pressure cook on high heat for 2 whistles. Remove the cooker from heat and let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid and fluff the ready rice.
Serving Suggestions
Pudina Rice tastes great with a side of raita or plain yogurt and a roasted/fried papad. A little mango pickle or green chili pickle makes it even better.
Some of the raitas that are regular with this pudina rice at home are – Cucumber Raita, Carrot Raita, Boondi Raita, Pomegranate Raita, Pahadi Kheere Ka Raita, and Tomato Onion Raita.
Storage Suggestions
Mint rice will last in the fridge for about 3 to 4 days when stored in an air-tight container. Make sure that the container is clean and dry and has a tight lid to put on.
Reheat in a pan or microwave. If you feel it has become a little dry, sprinkle a little water before reheating.
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Recipe Card
Pudina Rice Recipe
Ingredients
For Pudina Masala
- 1 cup fresh mint (tightly packed)
- 2 tablespoons cilantro (coriander)
- ½ cup chopped onions
- 1 inch piece of ginger (chopped)
- 5-6 peeled whole garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons chopped green chili peppers
- ¼ cup grated fresh coconut
For the Rice
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2-3 cloves
- 4-5 whole black peppercorns
- 8-10 whole cashew nuts
- ½ cup sliced onions
- ¼ cup chopped tomatoes
- ¼ cup peeled and cubed potatoes
- ¼ cup cubed carrots
- ¼ cup chopped green beans
- ¼ cup green peas (fresh or frozen)
- 1 cup short-grain white rice (I used sona masuri)
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to make pudina masala in a blender. Add ¼ cup water and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Rinse the rice and soak it in 3-4 cups of water. Set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a pot over high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, cloves, black peppercorns and cashew nuts and fry until cashew nuts turns slightly browned (1-2 minutes)
- Add onion and fry for 2-3 minutes.
- Add tomato and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Now add the pudina masala that we made earlier and cook for a minute.
- Add potatoes, carrots, green beans and green peas and fry for 2-3 minutes until the masala is dry.
- Drain the rice and add it to the pot along with 2 cups of water and salt and mix gently.
- Cover the pot with a lid and cook the rice on low heat until all the water is absorbed and rice is cooked.
- Serve hot with raita.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!