Loaded with veggies and flavorful chicken, warm spices like cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg and mace and the heat of green chilies this Mix Vegetable Chicken Pulao is a delight to the taste buds in every bite!
Chicken broth and seasonings are added to give it lots of flavor and moisture. It’s a one-pot meal to prepare and cook in a pot that comes together quickly for a hearty and hot week-night dinner.
There are some Rice Pulao that are overly packed with gorgeous spices flavors, but this isn’t one of those. This Chicken pulao is a medley of rice, chicken, spices, and vegetables. I just add a tiny sprinkle of green onion as a garnish, just to add a little more color when serving. Pairs perfectly with any raita or curry of your choice.
What goes in Mix Vegetable Chicken Pulao
The ingredients you need to make this Mix Vegetable Chicken Pulao are:
- Best rice for pulao – basmati rice is the best for both flavor and fluffiness. Basmati is a type of long grain rice – the longer the grain, the fluffier the rice. It also has a lovely subtle fragrance that really compliments the flavors in this rice pilaf; You can use brown rice as well for this pulao recipe.
- Chicken: The juicy thighs or chicken breast are the ideal meat choices for making pulao. You can use either the boneless pieces or the bone-in ones like leg pieces. I personally, like pulao with boneless chicken pieces.
- Fat – Ideally desi ghee (clarifying butter) is the best choice for making the pulao. I choose the clarified butter (desi ghee) for flavor, but if the aroma and taste of ghee are too over-powering for you, use unsalted butter, coconut oil, or any other cooking oil.
- Flavor Base – sautéed ginger and onion, to add savouriness;
- Pulao Spices – I’ve used a combination of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, mace, bay leaves and cumin in this Mix Vegetable Chicken Pulao. It’s reminiscent of traditional Middle Eastern flavors but also a festive combination. Feel free to customize this to your own taste;
- Broth OR water – For extra flavor, I almost always make my pulao with broth. However, water will work just fine as well, though I’d add an extra pinch of each of the spices;
- Vegetables – Use any vegetables you like here. I like using carrot and green peas for a vibrant color, and potatoes because the flavor melds in nicely with the rice. Cabbage and Capsicum also work well but be aware that they provide a sharper pop of flavor. Broccoli would also be great.
- Garnishing – I’ve used green onions in this mix vegetable chicken pulao recipe. I adore both the flavor and fresh green color that green onion bring to this pulao. Fresh Coriander and Mint Leaves are also great!
How to make Mix Vegetable Chicken Pulao:
Mix Vegetable Chicken Pulao is straight forward to make.
- Soak the rice for 30 minutes then drain.
- Sauté onion and whole spices in butter, then add the ginger and chicken along with seasoning. Cook for 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and all juices run clear.
- Then add carrots, green peas and potatoes cook 5-7 minutes or until vegetables crisp-tender then add chicken broth and bring it to boil. Then add rice cover the pot and let it simmer on medium low flame or until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed. This takes roughly 10 minutes.
- Now give a dum for a further 15 minutes. Fluff the rice and dish it out.
But here are my tips for how to make the best Pulao every time!
- Soaking Rice or not: Soaking white rice for about half an hour before cooking allows moisture to get to the middle of the kernel. During cooking, the heat transfers quicker to the middle and the rice will be done in about eight minutes, causing less damage to the outside of the kernel. Thus, it’s more evenly cooked, and easier to separate than the non-soaked rice.
- Right liquid to rice ratio – 1 1/2 Cups of liquid to 1 cup of rice will yield perfectly cooked fluffy rice. Adding too much liquid to cook rice always results in a mushy and sticky pulao
- Do not peek while rice is cooking! Escaped heat compromises the cooking of the rice;
- Rest undisturbed – this is the most important step for cooking rice. This is when the rice finishes cooking and becomes fluffy!
What To Serve With Mix Vegetable Chicken Pulao?
This is home-style, hearty chicken pulao with delicious flavors full of spices and aroma. I suggest, serve it hot right after dum (steaming) with zeera raita, or mint raita and kachumber salad for best taste. It would also go really well with my Chicken Shorba– a mild flavored desi style chicken stew with a great combination of Oriental spices.
Bismillah let’s get started.
Check it out The Flavorful Mix Vegetable Chicken Pulao Recipe and printable version here!!
The Flavorful Mix Vegetable Chicken Pulao Recipe
Nothing like a good plate of aromatic pulao! This Flavorful Mix Vegetable Chicken Pulao hits all the right spots with its wonderful aroma and exotic flavors! Spice up your week with this flavorful Pulao!
- 2 pounds Boneless Chicken
- 3 cups long gran rice (basmati rice)
- 1/2 cup clarified butter/ desi ghee or oil
- 1 onion (thinly sliced)
- 4 inch Ginger piece (thinly sliced)
- 4 carrots (peeled and cubed)
- 3 potatoes (peel and cubed)
- 2 cups Green Peas
- 2 green onions (thinly sliced( only green part))
- 4 Green Chilies (thinly sliced)
- 1 large Cinnamon Stick (daarcheeni)
- 2 Black Cardamom (bari elachi)
- 5-6 Cloves ((loong))
- 2 Bay Leaves (tezpaat)
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds ((zeera))
- 1 tsp nutmeg and mace powder
- 1/2 tsp Black Peppercorns ((kali mirch))
- 2 tsp Red Chili Flakes
- 1 tsp all spice powder (garam Masala powder)
- 2 tsp salt or according to your taste
- 6 cups Chicken Broth (Yakhni)
- Rinse the basmati rice till the water becomes clear. Then soak it in water for 20 minutes. After soaking, drain the rice and keep it ready.
- Take a heavy bottom skillet or pot and melt clarified butter in it.
- Add the onions and sauté until they are a deep golden brown. This can take up to 5-7 minutes over a low heat. You will need to check and stir a couple of times. Don’t be tempted to rush this stage because this adds a lot of flavor to the finished dish.
- Add the cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, black cardamom, black peppercorns and cloves. Sauté for 2 minutes or until popping and fragrant.
- Now add the ginger slices and Chicken, cook for 15-20 minutes or till chicken turns golden brown before adding the vegetables.
- Now add Carrot, Potatoes and green Peas. Sauté and cook for 10 minutes or until vegetables are just tender-crisp.
- Season with salt, red pepper flakes and some garam masala.
- Next, add green chilies and sauté for a second and adjust the seasoning and add more salt if needed.
- Add Chicken Stock and once the it starts boiling add the soaked basmati rice and mix it gently.
- Now, wait for it to boil again, then cover and simmer on medium low flame or until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed. This takes roughly 10 minutes.
- Put the pot covered (give a dum) for a further 15 minutes.
- Now, uncover the pot sprinkle green onion (only green part)and fluff the rice gently from the corners
- Remove from the heat and dish it out.
- Enjoy flavorful Mix Vegetable Chicken Pulao!!
I can’t wait to hear what you think of this Mix Vegetable Chicken pulao. If you’ve tried both my chicken biryani and my chicken pulao you really have to let me know what you think!
Want more Pulao Inspiration?
Here are some of the other Pulao Recipes that I love to make for my weekday meals.
- Kashmiri Chicken Pulao Recipe
- Sajji Pulao Recipe
- Champ Pulao Recipe
- Meatball and Pea Pulao Recipe
- Chicken and Chickpea Pulao Recipe
- Chicken keema Pulao Recipe
- Spicy Mutton Pulao Recipe
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