Pudina Rice or Pudina Pulao is a simple one-pot rice recipe made with mint leaves, basmati rice and spices. The rice is cooked with onions, tomatoes and herbs for a fresh flavor. You can add green peas and potatoes for variation. Serve hot with raita or a side salad.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 30 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup mint leaves (- chopped,)
  • ½ cup coriander leaves (- chopped (cilantro))
  • 1 to 2 green chillies (- chopped)
  • ½ inch ginger (- chopped or ½ teaspoon chopped ginger)
  • 3-4 garlic (- chopped or ½ teaspoon chopped garlic)
  • 1 tablespoon chopped coconut
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 2 to 3 tablespoon water for grinding (or add as required)
  • 2 tablespoons oil (- any neutral flavored oil)
  • 1 cup basmati rice (or 200 grams or any non sticky variety of rice)
  • 2 cloves
  • 2 green cardamoms
  • 1 inch cinnamon
  • 1 tej patta ((Indian bay leaf) - small to medium-sized)
  • ½ cup onions (- thinly sliced or 1 medium-sized onion)
  • 1 tomato (- small, sliced - optional)
  • 1 potato (- small to medium-sized, peeled and chopped)
  • ¼ cup green peas (- heaped, fresh or frozen)
  • 1.5 to 2 cups water
  • salt (as required)

Method

Preparation

  1. Rinse the 1 cup basmati rice (200 grams) till the water runs clear of the starch. Soak the rice in water for 20 to 30 minutes.
  2. After 20 to 30 minutes, drain the water from the rice. Set the soaked rice aside.
  3. Meanwhile, when the rice is soaking, prep the other ingredients.
  4. Take the chopped mint leaves, coriander leaves, ginger, garlic, green chilies, chopped coconut or coconut milk or grated coconut, coriander seeds, cumin seeds in a chutney grinder or small grinder or blender.
  5. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water and grind to a smooth paste. Add more water if required while grinding.

Making pudina rice

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 2 litre stovetop pressure cooker.
  2. Add the following whole spices - cinnamon, tej patta, green cardamoms, cloves, mace strands and a small piece of stone flower. Adding stone flower is optional.
  3. On low heat, fry the spices for some seconds till they become aromatic.
  4. Then add sliced onions.
  5. Saute till the onions become golden. Then add the ground mint paste.
  6. Add turmeric powder and red chili powder. Stir and sauté the masala paste for a minute or two.
  7. Then add chopped potatoes, tomatoes and green peas. Stir and mix.
  8. Add the strained rice and stir gently. The oil should coat the rice grains well. Stir and sauté for a minute.

Cooking pudina rice

  1. Add 1.5 to 2 cups of water. Stir and mix well.
  2. I added 2 cups since I had used organic basmati rice and we prefer the rice grains to be cooked well. 1.5 cups will give an al dente texture and can be added for the regular Indian brands of basmati rice.
  3. Add salt as required. Stir and mix again.
  4. Cover the lid tightly and pressure cook on high heat for 2 to 3 whistles till the rice grains are cooked and tender.
  5. When the pressure settles down on its own, then only open the lid and gently fluff the rice.
  6. Serve Pudina Rice hot with plain curd (yogurt) or with onion-tomato raita or boondi raita.

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.