Sama Rice Pulao
Sama Rice Pulao or Samvat Rice pulao is a Navratri fasting recipe made with samvat rice, vegetables and a tempering of cumin & green chilies.
Equipment
- Instant Pot Or Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup samo rice
- 1 large potato peeld and cubed
- ¾ cup mix vegetables of choice I used carrots, green beans & green peas
- 2 tablespoon ghee
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 indian green chillies (hot), adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon sendha namak (indian rock salt), adjust to taste
- 1.5 cup hot water or as needed
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice adjust to taste
- 2 tablespoon cilantro leaves chopped, adjust to taste
Instructions
- Place sama chawal in a bowl and wash 3-4 times with water. These rice are a bit difficult to strain because of being so tiny, you may use a super fine mesh strainer or a clean tea strainer works great while draining them.
- Soak rice in enough water for 20 minutes.
- While the rice soak, you may prepare the vegetables like peeling the potatoes and cubing them. Clean and chop the green chillies, green beans & carrots. I use frozen green peas and add them straightaway.
- Plug in the Instant Pot and press saute mode. Or place pressure cooker on a low medium stove.
- Once the timer starts, add ghee to the steel insert of Instant Pot. Or add ghee to the pressure cooker.
- Once the ghee melts, temper it with a teaspoon of cumin seeds and green chilies.
- As soon as the cumin seeds crackle, immediately add the potatoes and stir for a minute or soto prevent them from sticking.
- Then, add all the vegetables at once, sprinkle sendha namak (salt) and stir everything together for 1-2 minutes.
- Next, add the soaked and drained samo rice and mix with the vegetables.
- Add 3 -4 times the quantity of fresh water than the samo rice. These rice need extra water to soften, cook and swell.
- Cancel the saute mode and close the lid of the Instant pot. Press pressure cook on "normal" and set timer for 3 minutes with vent in seal position. Let pressure cook. Close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook on medium flame for 2-3 whistles.
- For Instant Pot, let pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and then manually release the pressure by bringing the valve to vent position. For pressure cooker, let pressure release natually.
- Open the lid and check the consistency of the pulao. If needed, you can adjust the consistency by adding a little more hot water. Simmer for 2-4 minutes after adding water.
- Finish the pulao with squeeze of lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves
- Serve warm with a drizzle of ghee and sides like plain yogurt.
Notes
- Don't cook samo rice without soaking. They won't cook soft.
- You can adjust the amount of green chilies depending on how spicy you prefer.
- You can also add some chopped ginger for warmth and crushed black pepper for extra spice.
- Cut all the vegetables slightly large so that they don't overcook & distingrate during pressure cooking.
- Cashews and peanuts add a nice crunch to this pulao. If you want to add them, roast them separately and add to the pulao.
- I dont prefer a dry consistency pulao, rather I like it like soft and runny like khichdi. Please adjust water quanity depending on how you like.
- Lastly, it is natural for the pulao to get thick as it cools down. It is best to serve it right away. If you have leftovers, you could thin it out with little water while reheating.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!