Basmati rice cooked with green peas and whole spices like cardamom, cloves & cumin seeds! This Matar Pulao makes a great side dish and goes well with any dal or curry or yogurt. Vegan and gluten-free.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 2
  • Category: Sides
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup basmati rice (200 grams, soaked for 30 minutes)
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 3 green cardamom pods
  • 2 black cardamom
  • 3 cloves
  • 1 medium onion (thinly sliced)
  • 1 green chili (finely chopped)
  • 1.5 cups green peas (I used frozen green peas, soaked in warm water for 10 minutes before using in the recipe)
  • 2-3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
  • 1.5 cups water (12 oz)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Method

  1. Wash basmati rice until water turns clear, then soak it in enough water for 30 minutes. Once 30 minutes are over, drain the water and set aside the rice.
  2. Heat a pan on medium heat. Once hot, add the oil and then add the bay leaf, cumin seeds, green cardamom, black cardamom and cloves.Saute until the spices are fragrant, around 30 seconds.
  3. Then add the sliced onion and green chili and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the onions turn light golden brown in color. You can add a pinch of salt here so that onions cook faster.
  4. Add the frozen green peas (I soaked frozen peas in warm water for 10 minutes before using in the recipe) along with chopped cilantro. Cook for 1 minute.
  5. Add 1.5 cups water, salt and let it all come to a boil.
  6. Once the water starts boiling, add the rinsed and drained rice to the pan. Stir.
  7. Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook for 10 minutes on medium heat. After 10 minutes check the rice, if it isn’t done cook for additional 5 minutes. Mine was done in 10 minutes.
  8. Open the lid and fluff the rice with a fork.
  9. Garnish matar pulao with some more cilantro! Serve hot with any curry or raita.

Instant Pot Instructions

  1. To make matar pulao in an Instant Pot, don’t soak the rice. Press the saute button and once it displays hot, then add the oil and whole spices and saute until spices are fragrant. Add onion and green chili and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until onion is light golden brown. Then add the green peas and cilantro and stir. Add the water and deglaze the pot, make sure there's nothing stuck at the bottom. Add the rice salt and stir and close the lid. Press the rice button which will automatically cook it for 12 minutes on low pressure. Let the pressure release naturally. Fluff rice with a fork.

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.