Having an electric rice cooker in your kitchen is a boon, especially on those busy mornings when you are hard-pressed for time. Compared to using a conventional pressure cooker, cooking in a rice cooker is hassle-free. You need not worry about the notorious pressure cooker blasts. Just toss in all the ingredients and turn it on. Right from cooking plain white rice to preparing elaborate pulaos and biryanis, cooking with rice cooker is absolutely easy. Here’s a collection of the best pulao recipes to try in your rice cooker.
Vegetable Pulao
Add 1 cup of basmati rice to the rice cooker pot and soak it in 2 cups of water for 30 minutes. In the meantime, heat oil in a pan and then add kala jeera (1/2 tsp) and whole garam masala (1 black cardamom, 1 green cardamom, 1-inch cinnamon, 2 cloves, bay leaf, 1 mace and 5-6 black peppercorns). Now, add two chopped green chillies and one chopped onion and sauté it till the onion turns translucent. Add a teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste and sauté till the raw smell goes off.
Stir in 2 tablespoons each of chopped mint and coriander leaves followed by your choice of roughly cut mixed vegetables (beans, carrot, green peas, cauliflower). Toss in a cup of yoghurt and salt to taste and stir. Now, add this mixture to the rice cooker and stir it gently. Allow it to cook until the timer turns off and let it stand for five minutes before serving it with raita.
Chicken Pulao
To start with, marinate 250 grams of washed chicken pieces in half a cup of curd, 2 tablespoons of chilli powder, 1 tablespoon of ginger garlic paste, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and ½ teaspoon salt for half an hour. Heat a tablespoon each of oil and ghee in a pan and add 2 tablespoons of garam masala. Fry it till you get a nice aroma and then stir in 2 sliced onions along with the required salt. Fry the onions until they turn translucent.
Add a tablespoon of ginger garlic paste and ¼ cup of mint leaves and fry for two minutes. Add 2 chopped tomatoes and sauté till they turn mushy. Stir in the marinated chicken to this and cook till it turns into light brown colour. Add two cups of soaked basmati rice to this and fry for two minutes. Transfer the content to the rice cooker pot and add 3 ½ cups of water. Switch on the electric rice cooker and allow it to cook until the timer goes off. Serve hot with sliced onion or raita.
Kashmiri Pulao
This unconventional and sweet Kashmiri Pulao is packed with the goodness of rich cream, few spices and dry fruits and is very easy to make. Soak two cups of basmati rice in water. Mix cream (1/2 cup), milk (2 cups), salt (to taste) and sugar (1 teaspoon). Heat two tablespoons of ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds (1/2 teaspoon), cinnamon (1-inch), bay leaf (1), cardamoms (3) and cloves (3). Once this splutters, drain the water from the rice and add it to the pan. Fry for two minutes and then stir in the milk mixture along with half a cup of water. Transfer the contents to the rice cooker and turn it on. Once done, allow it to stand for five minutes and then gently add a mixture of dry fruits (almonds, cashew nuts and raisins). Serve hot Kashmiri Pulao with rich gravies like shahi paneer.
Plan which of these pulao recipes you would like to try for the day. We are sure each one of these appetizing pulao varieties with perfectly cooked rice grains will add a star to your chef hat, while you alone know that your secret cooking companion is your electric rice cooker!