Mint pulao recipe or pudina rice recipe – a delicious flavor-packed rice using mint leaves and spices. Fresh pudina or mint leaves are used in this recipe and with a handful of Indian spices, this mint rice pulao is easy to put together. Mint is one of my favorite herbs that lends a great flavor to any dish like a simple mint pomegranate raita. This pudina pulao uses some whole spices and grated coconut to complement the mint. The end result is a delicious flavor-packed rice that I usually end up eating on its own or with just plain yogurt or a simple raita.
In this vegan rice, I have used potatoes to make it a wholesome dish. But you could add some boiled carrots and peas to make it more nutritious. Only the preparation part takes a bit of time, but once you have all the elements ready, you can put together this dish in minutes. You can use pre-cooked rice or freshly prepare the rice. But we need to make sure that the rice has compeletely cooled down and then only add the rice when making the pulao, otherwise the rice is going to end up mushy.
A few other rice recipes are potato rice | carrot pulav.
Mint is an aromatic soothing herb that helps in digestion and apart from this, mint leaves are also a great source of vitamin C as well as a good source of iron and calcium. Lets move on to the recipe for easy mint pulao or pudina rice.
How to make mint pulao step by step
- Wash the basmati rice, soak it in water for 20 minutes and pressure cook or prepare the rice. Fluff the rice with a fork and set it aside to cool down completely. Also, pressure cook or boil the potatoes and cut them into cubes.
- Pick the mint leaves and wash them thoroughly.
- Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan. Add dry red chillies and the mint leaves along with turmeric powder and fry till mint leaves wilt.
- Once it cools down, add the mint leaves mixture along with grated coconut, garlic and salt in a blender or mixer.
- Blend the mint mixture to a fine paste and set aside.
- Heat remaining oil in a large pan or kadai. Add the whole garam masala ingredients and saute for a few seconds. Then add the sliced onions.
- Saute till the edges of the onions turn almost golden brown in color and add the boiled potato cubes along with little salt.
- Fry till the potatoes are slightly browned.
- Add the prepared mint paste and mix well and stir for a minute.
- Add the rice and on a low flame, gently mix the rice with the mint paste and required amount of salt till all the rice has been coated with the masala. Remove from heat and gently mix the rice once with lemon juice.
- Mint pulao rice is ready to be served.
Pudina Pulao | Mint Rice | Mint Pulao Recipe
- 1 cup basmati rice or long-grained rice
- 2 cups mint leaves / pudina ( loosely-packed )
- 1 onion, medium-sized
- 1 potato, large
- 4 tbsp grated coconut
- 1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 inch piece cinnamon
- 2 cloves
- 2 dry red chillies
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Salt to taste
- 1 1/2 tbsp + 1 tsp oil
- Rinse the basmati rice 4-5 times in water and soak it in water for 20 minutes. Then drain the rice and pressure cook the rice with 1 3/4 cups water for 2 whistles. Alternatively, use pre-cooked rice. Once the pressure has released from the pressure cooker by itself, remove the lid and gently fluff the rice with a fork and set it aside to cool down completely.
- Meanwhile, pressure cook or boil the whole potatoes in enough water till they turn soft. Once they cool down, remove the skin and cut the potatoes into bite-sized cubes.
- Finely slice the onions lengthwise and chop the garlic.
- Also, pick the mint leaves, discarding the stems. Wash the mint leaves thoroughly.
- Heat 1 tsp oil in a kadai or pan. Add the dry red chillies and washed mint leaves along with turmeric powder and saute till the mint leaves wilt and then remove from heat. Once it cools down, grind the mint leaves mixture with grated coconut, garlic and little salt to a fine paste by adding around 4 tbsp water. Set this ground mint paste aside.
- Heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil in a large pan or kadai. Add bay leaf, cinnamon and cloves and saute for a few seconds. Then add the sliced onions and saute till the edges of the onions turn almost golden brown in color.
- Now add the boiled potato cubes, along with little salt and fry for 4-5 minutes till the potatoes are slightly browned.
- Then add the ground mint paste, mix well and fry for a minute.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the rice and required amount of salt ( little salt has already been added when making the mint paste and frying the potatoes ). Gently mix the rice with the paste till all the rice has been coated and the rice is heated through and then remove from heat. Finally add the freshly squeezed lemon juice and gently mix.
- Mint pulao is now ready to be served.
2. Use other vegetables like carrot and peas to make this rice more nutritious.
3. Use a large kadai or pan to prepare the pulao to enable easy mixing of the rice.
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