Kashmiri Pulao is a flavourful & delicious pulao version made by cooking rice in milk infused with kesar and sauteed with dry fruits, nuts, fruits & tempered spices. Kashmiri Pulao is a rich heavenly palate which should be cooked and tasted with passion & time. How to make Kashmiri Pulao is explained in this post with step by step pictures and video.
Kashmiri Pulao is a perfect rice menu for parties and special occasions. The taste and the flavour of the pulao lingers in the mouth for days together! Kashmiri pulao is a rich one pot dish very aromatic, flavorful and quickest to make too.
About Kashmiri Pulao
Kashmiri Pulao is one of the nicest rice meal that is savoured by the entire family. Cooking Kashmiri Pulao takes some time, but worth the efforts. This recipe does not need any veggie except for onions but one of the finest meals in vegetarian menu.
The recipe uses rich ingredients – right from saffron, cashews, almonds, raisins, fruits & milk. The best thing about this recipe is that these ingredients may be added or discounted based on your preferences however cooking rice in saffron infused milk is the core step of this recipe which makes Kashmiri Pulao the best. The family will come again for more!
I have tasted kashmiri pulao twice and recently hubby ordered it when we dined at Annapoorna, I was awed by their presentation and taste that urged me to try it. Though I am not a great fan of kashmiri pulao , I love it minus the fruits.I have tried kashmiri pulao twice before and both the times I reserved my share before adding fruits and had it heartily. Kashmiri Pulao is a very easy veg pulao which is aromatic and mildy sweet, flavoured with spices and saffron with the crunch of fruits, dry fruits and fried onions. The variation of making kashmiri pulao uses a different mix of fruits and dry fruits but in general for fruits : apple,pomegranate and pineapple is used.
You can check sidedishes here to pair up with.
Kashmiri Pulao – Beauty of the state in food!
Jehangir, the emperor, had quoted “If there is heaven on earth, it is here” awed by the beauty of Kashmir. Likewise I would say, if there is an epitome of taste in a vegetarian rice meal, it would be Kashmiri Pulao. The beauty of the state reflects in its food – Kashmiri Pulao.
Kashmiri Pulao – The assortment of tastes!
The sweetness of saffron& fruits, the mild hot spices, the sour cinnamon & tempered onions, crunchy cashews & almonds, minty cardamom, bitterness of jeera make this dish an assortment of tastes.
Cooking in milk enhances the taste further and gives a subtle sweetness to Kashmiri Pulao. It has to be tasted bit by bit taking lots of time to savour the assortment of taste & flavour till the last grain is eaten.Sometimes I worry – Why I have only one tongue?
Kashmiri Pulao – Cook it when you have everything!
“Kash” in Kashmiri takes your cash out to make this dish in large batches for parties – however, one will not regret!
Kashmiri Pulao needs passion, time, effort, and a list of ingredients – So make it when you have everything! Else grab Kashmiri Pulao whenever you have choices in a buffet!
Why this Kashmiri Pulao recipe works
- Recipe tested multiple times with lots of variations and the best tasted combination has been prescribed here.
- Tried by lot of readers and liked by most of them
Kashmiri Pulao Recipe – Ingredients
- Saffron : Beware of fake saffron – Get them from Fab India, Nigliris or Dry Fruit Retailers.
- Dry Fruits : Cashews, almonds and raisins are used in this recipe. Add walnuts, apricots & fig if you like its taste. Use whole sized cashews, almonds for garnishing.
- Fruits : Cubed pineapple, pomegranate pearls are commonly used. You can add grapes, apple if you like them.
- Spices : I have used cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, star anise, jeera powder for this recipe. Additionally you may use black cardamom, fennel, ginger powder, bay leaf.
- Rice : Use only basmati rice and preferably do not pressure cook rice. Rinse 2-3 times to remove starch from the plain rice. Cook it bit grain separated so that it is not sticky or form lumps. I recommend cooking it as a one pot dish in a ceramic container or in a pan. You can use cooker too to cook rice but make sure it is grain separated.
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📖 Recipe Card
Kashmiri Pulao
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 and ¾ cups water
- 10 strands saffron
- 1 medium sized big onion chopped lengthwise
- ¾ teaspoon roasted cumin powder
- salt to taste
To temper:
- 2 tablespoon + 1 tablespoon ghee
- 1/2 tablespoon oil
- 3 1/4 inch piece sinnamon
- 2 nos cloves
- 1 no cardamom
- 1 no star anise
Fruits & Dry Fruits & Nuts
- 1/2 cup pineapple
- 1/2 cup pomegranate
- 20 nos cashews
- 15 nos almonds
- 2 tablespoon raisins
Instructions
- Soak rice for 15 mins. Then rinse well drain water and set aside.
- Heat ghee in a pan add all the spices listed under to temper : cinnamon, star anise, cardamom and cloves. Fry for few seconds.
- Then add drained rice give a quick mix.
- Soak saffron in warm milk.
- Add saffron milk to rice.
- Measure and add milk, water.
- Cook covered until rice is done. Rice should be cooked soft but not mushy, it should be grain separated.
- Fluff the rice and transfer to wide a mixing bowl. Set aside to cool a bit.
- Heat ghee + oil – add cashews and almonds, fry until golden. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Add raisins let it bubble up fry until golden. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Heat oil in a pan add thinly sliced onions.
- Fry until golden brown as shown bwlow, transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Assemble fruits only while serving. To the mixing bowl having cooked rice : Add fried onion, nuts, raisins, pomegranate, pineapple etc.
- Add required salt and roasted cumin powder. Mix it well.
- Kashmiri pulao ready to eat.
Video
Notes
- You can pressure cook rice in the same mentioned ratio of water and milk for 1 cup of rice for 3 whistles das shown in the video.
- If you don’t want the spices to come while eating then discard them.
- Don’t add the fruits while rice is hot it will leave out water.Add fruits just before serving.So if you are making for guests, get all your ingredients ready and while you are about to serve heat the rice give a quick stir and when its still warm all fried onions,dry fruits nuts and fresh fruits.
- Don’t heat / reheat after fruits are added.
- You can even deep fry onions to save time, I tawa toasted it and it took around 10-12 mins to get roasted well.
- Reserve whole cashews and use it for garnish and serving.
- Adding roasted jeera powder gives a nice flavour.
- You can even add 1/3 cup of cubed paneer.
- Presoaking rice not only cooks the rice faster, it gives nice soft fluffy rice.Make sure you saute the rice in ghee before cooking which helps in cooking the rice grain separated.
- You can even add apples but since it browns faster I avoided it.You can add few fresh green / black grapes to the pulao.
- You can even add vegetables like peas and carrot but I prefer making it just with fruits as the traditional way.
- As the pulao is mildy sweet, pair it up with any spicy kurma or sidedish.
The fruits and dry fruits are enough for the sweetness but if you prefer you can add a teaspoon of sugar too.
Recipe of Kashmiri Pulao
Cook rice
1.Soak rice for 15 mins. Then rinse well, drain water and set aside.
2.Heat ghee in a pan add all the spices listed under to temper : cinnamon, star anise, cardamom and cloves. Fry for few seconds.
3.Then add drained rice give a quick mix.
5.Soak saffron in warm milk.
6.Add saffron milk to rice.
7.Measure and add milk, water.
8.Cook covered until rice is done. Rice should be cooked soft but not mushy, it should be grain separated.
9.Fluff the rice and transfer to wide a mixing bowl. Set aside to cool a bit.
Garnish
10. Heat ghee – add cashews and almonds, fry until golden. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
11.Add raisins let it bubble up fry until golden. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
12.Add and heat oil in a pan add thinly sliced onions.
13.Fry until golden brown as shown below, transfer to a plate and set aside.
Assembling
14.Assemble fruits only while serving else it will become soggy. To the mixing bowl having cooked rice : Add fried onion, nuts, raisins, pomegranate, pineapple etc.
15. Add required salt and roasted cumin powder.
16.Mix it well.
17.Kashmiri pulao ready to eat.
Serve!
Kashmiri Pulao – when can we make?
- Weekend family lunch
- Small parties & function
- Grand Lunch Treat for friends or relatives
- Kids Lunch Box on their occasions
- Experimental & Stress busting times
Kashmiri Pulao – Expert Tips
- You can pressure cook rice in the same mentioned ratio of water and milk for 1 cup of rice for 3 whistles das shown in the video.
- If you don’t want the spices to come while eating then discard them.
- Choose long grained basmati rice.
- Don’t add the fruits while rice is hot it will leave out water.Add fruits just before serving.So if you are making for guests, get all your ingredients ready and while you are about to serve heat the rice give a quick stir and when its still warm all fried onions,dry fruits nuts and fresh fruits.
- Don’t heat / reheat after fruits are added.
- You can even deep fry onions to save time, I tawa toasted it and it took around 10-12 mins to get roasted well.
- Reserve whole cashews and use it for garnish and serving.
- Adding roasted jeera powder gives a nice flavour.
- You can even add 1/3 cup of cubed paneer.
- Presoaking rice not only cooks the rice faster, it gives nice soft fluffy rice.Make sure you saute the rice in ghee before cooking which helps in cooking the rice grain separated.
- You can even add apples but since it browns faster I avoided it.You can add few fresh green / black grapes to the pulao.
- You can even add vegetables like peas and carrot but I prefer making it just with fruits as the traditional way.
- As the pulao is mildy sweet, pair it up with any spicy kurma or sidedish.
- The fruits and dry fruits are enough for the sweetness but if you prefer you can add a teaspoon of sugar too.
Serving & Storage Suggestions
Serve Kashmiri Pulao with raita or a mild gravy!
Since the pulao has milk &fruits consume within the meal time for which it is cooked. If it has to be stored for consumption later, reserve a portion of the pulao without fruits while cooking and refrigerate. Heat it in stovetop or microwave and blend with fruits or serve without fruits before use.
Variations to Recipe of Kashmiri Pulao
I suggest to try this recipe without any variation in the prescribed ingredients & its quantity for best results. However, when you run short of inventory you can try the below variations.
- You can make plain Kashmiri Pulao without Dry Fruits and dry fruits just by cooking rice with saffron infused milk
- You can make Kashmiri pulao without dry fruits or fruits
- You can add paneer after shallow frying it along with dry fruits.
FAQs
1.What is Kashmiri Pulao?
Kashmiri Pulao is a flavourful & delicious pulao version made by cooking rice in milk infused with kesar and sautéed with dry fruits, nuts, fruits & tempered spices.
2.How to make Kashmiri Pulao?
- Temper the spices and cook it with rinsed rice
- Soak saffron in milk and add it to rice with milk & water
- Saute dry fruits in ghee and fry onions till gets brown
- Blend the rice with dry fruits, onions & jeera powder
- Finally add fruits and give a quick stir. Kashmiri Pulao is ready to enjoy!
3.I do not like fruits in rice – Do I need to necessarily add them?
You can skip adding fruits, if you do not like them. The saffron infused milk & dry fruits & nuts will take care of the magic.
4.Can we use boiled rice or brown rice or raw rice for this recipe?
Basmati rice gets us best results. Other rice varieties are not preferred.
5.Can I make this recipe without saffron?
Saffron is mandatory for this recipe – else it will be like mild, sweetened pulao.
Kalaivani Dhinesh
nice clicks…your description makes me feel the aroma
Raks anand
Not a big fan of kashmiri pulao, still enjoyed the pics 🙂
saradha sivaramakrishnan
Super clicks.tempting to have now itself.ur recipes r reference book for me.ur site inspired me to start a food blog named lavyandkitchen.blogspot.in
Uma Shankar
yummy never tasted this before will try!
Farin Ahmed
Pic looks awesome dear!!! Feel like grabbing…
traditionallymodernfood
Fav recipe..neatly presented!!
Vaishnavi
Can you pls tell me the side dish u have served?
SHARMILEE J
It is tender jackfruit kurma 🙂
Vaishnavi
Oh ok. I cant find the recipe i n your blog. Hoping to see it soon. Pls do post soon:)