Fragrant, comforting, and easy to serve as a complete meal, Masala Rice Pulao Recipe - Lunch Box Special is a vegetarian Indian rice made with ghee / clarified butter, mustard, and cumin / jeera in about 15 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: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 10 minutes
  • Total time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 2 Servings
  • Category: rice
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp ghee / clarified butter
  • 1 tsp mustard
  • 1 tsp cumin / jeera
  • ½ tsp saunf / fennel
  • pinch asafoetida / hing
  • few curry leaves
  • ½ tsp ginger garlic paste
  • 1 green chilli (slit)
  • ½ onion (finely chopped)
  • 1 tomato (finely chopped)
  • ½ carrot (chopped)
  • 2 tbsp peas / matar
  • 3 beans (chopped)
  • ¼ capsicum (chopped)
  • ¼ tsp turmeric
  • ¾ tsp kashmiri red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • ½ tsp garam masala
  • 2 cup cooked rice
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp coriander (finely chopped)

Method

  1. firstly, in a large kadai heat 1 tbsp ghee and splutter 1 tsp mustard, 1 tsp cumin, ½ tsp saunf, pinch asafoetida and few curry leaves.
  2. now add ½ tsp ginger garlic paste, 1 green chilli and ½ onion. saute well.
  3. additionally, add 1 tomato and saute till tomatoes turn soft & mushy.
  4. further add chopped vegetables and cook for 5 minutes.
  5. now add ¼ tsp turmeric, ¾ tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder and ½ tsp garam masala.
  6. saute until the spices start to release oil.
  7. furthermore, add 2 cups cooked rice and 1 tsp salt.
  8. mix gently without breaking rice grains.
  9. cover and simmer for 4 minutes.
  10. finally, add coriander leaves and serve masala rice with raita or pack to a lunch box.

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.