Fragrant, comforting, and easy to serve as a complete meal, Basanti Pulao Recipe | Sweet & Spicy Pulao Rice is a vegetarian bengali pulao made with rice, ginger paste, and turmeric in about 30 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 Servings
  • Category: pulao
  • Cuisine: bengali

Ingredients

  • 1 cup rice
  • 1 tsp ginger paste
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • ½ tsp garam masala
  • 1 tbsp ghee
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 4 pod cardamom
  • 5 cloves
  • 1 inch cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp cashew
  • 2 tbsp raisins
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • 2 cup water
  • 6 chilli (slit)
  • ¼ cup sugar

Method

  1. Firstly, in a bowl take 1 cup rice and soak for 30 minutes. Traditionally, Bengali Pulao is made with Gobindobhog Rice. However, you can use any short-grain rice or basmati rice.
  2. Drain off the water and transfer to the plate.
  3. Add 1 tsp ginger paste, ½ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp garam masala and 1 tbsp ghee.
  4. Mix gently, making sure the spices are well coated in the rice.
  5. Now in a large kadai heat 2 tbsp oil, 1 tsp ghee.
  6. Add 1 bay leaf, 4 pods cardamom, 5 cloves, 1 inch cinnamon, 2 tbsp cashew and 2 tbsp raisins.
  7. Roast on low flame until the cashews turn golden brown.
  8. Add in soaked rice and cook for 2 minutes. Make sure not to break the rice grains.
  9. Once the rice turns shiny, add ¾ tsp salt and 2 cup water.
  10. Mix well, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
  11. After 10 minutes, mix gently, and you can see the rice would be half cooked.
  12. Now place 6 chilli and ¼ cup sugar.
  13. Cover and simmer for 10 more minutes, or until the rice is cooked well.
  14. Remove the kadai from the heat and let the rice rest for 5 minutes before serving.
  15. Finally, enjoy Basanti Pulao with Kosha Mangsho (Bengali Mutton Curry) or any spicy veg curry.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.