Beets pulao is a healthy one-pot rice dish. It’s an easy-to-prepare, delicious dish usually served for lunch or dinner with raita on the side. The main vegetable used in this dish is beetroot, cooked with onions, green peas, and spices in oil. Preparing the beets-peas pulao is simple and can be prepared in under 30 minutes. Continue reading if you want to know how to prepare this one-pot rice meal.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 2

ingredients:

1 cup basmati rice(200g approx)
2 cups of water
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 bay leaves
2 cloves
1/2 inch cinnamon
3 green cardamom
1-2 star anise
1 small onion, finely chopped
1.5 tablespoons ginger garlic paste
1 large tomato, finely chopped
2 medium beetroot, chopped into small chunks
100g green peas
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
salt to taste

preparation:

1. Heat vegetable oil in a pressure cooker on low-medium heat.
2. Once the oil is hot enough, add all the dry whole spices – bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, green cardamom, and star anise. Fry these in the oil for about 30 seconds to a minute to allow these spices to release flavors.
3. Add and saute onion until they turn transparent. 
4. Fry ginger-garlic paste until the raw smell goes away.
5. Add chopped tomatoes and saute until they are soft and mushy.
6. Add beets chunks and green peas, fry these veggies for 20 seconds.
7. Lower the heat and add powdered spices – turmeric, red chili, and garam masala. Fry these for another 20 seconds.
8. Add rinsed basmati rice and then pour in the water. 
9. Stir in salt and allow the mixture to come to a boil.
10. Taste for salt and spice, adjust if necessary. 
11. Combine well and close the pressure cooker lid. Cook for 1 whistle, turn off, and let the cooker depressurize. 
12. Serve with onion raita. 

note:

• You can tweak the quantity of each ingredient as per your taste and preference.
• If you are not using pressure cooker, you can either a normal cooking pot with lid and follow the same procedure. Lastly, cook rice with lid on until rice is well cooked and there’s no water left.
• Beets pulao tastes best when eaten right away after it’s cooked. However, it can be stored in refrigerator for a day. After which it should be heated in a microwave by sprinkling some water on top before consuming it.

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