Spicy Malvani Masala Vegetable Pulav.

“Spicy Malvani Masala Vegetable Pulav” … Delicious spicy pulav/ pulao/ spiced rice dish that does not need any accompaniment to be served along with and tastes awesome when served along with simple curds or raita … Yummilicious … 

** Here is a simple pulav/ pulao/ spiced rice dish, prepared with veggies and spiced up with masala powder and the result is an awesome spicy pulav that can be served as it is with some curds or raita. The pulav being spicy on its own really does not need any gravy dish and is best served and relished in simple way. With tough times going on, I was graving to eat spicy pulav for a few days now as it is one of my most favorite dish and in other days without fail I at least prepare it once a week. But somehow I resisted preparing the same till date as it is not only laborious but needs to have at least a few different varieties of veggies. Yesterday somehow managed to get cauliflower the main dish usually added on in pulav along with peas, the later which I could not manage to get. But the pulav turned delicious all spiced and we had it to our hearts content. Sharing the recipe below without running into more details, do try this one out and enjoy with your family and friends. I am sure you can find malvani masala powder in your nearby stores as it is a common masala powder. Stay Safe- Stay Blessed- Stay at Home. 

** Here is the simple method of preparing “Spicy Malvani Masala Vegetable Pulav” … My style … 

** Ingredients : 

Basmati Rice/ Jeera Rice : 2 cups 

Cauliflower Florets : 2 cups 

Beetroot : one large sized peeled and cut into ½ inch sized cubes. 

Carrots/ Gajjar : 2 medium sized peeled and cut into ½ inch sized cubes. 

Gherkins/ Ivy Gourd/ Tendle : 10-12 cut into medium sized cubes. 

Capsicum/ Donnemirsanga/ Simla Mirchi : one large sized cut into medium sized cubes. 

Onion/ Piyav/ Kanda : 1 large or 2 medium sized ~ finely chopped. 

Garlic/ Losun/ Lehsun : 10-12 cloves finely chopped. 

Ginger/ Adrak/ Alle’ : 1 tblsp grated 

Salt/ Namak/ Meeta to taste 

Lemon/ Nimboo/ Limbiyo : 1/2 medium sized.

Ghee/ Toop : ½ cup 

Boiling Water : 4 cups 

** Whole Garam Masala : 

Black Pepper/ Kali Miri : 5-6 

Star Anise : 1 

Cloves/ Lavang : 4-5 

Cinnamon/ Tike Sal : 2x 1 inch size 

Black Cardamom / Ellaichi : 2 cut into two

Green Cardamom/ Ellaichi : 3 cut into two

Bay Leaf / Tej Patta : 2-3 small 

** Masala Powders : 

Malvani Masala Powder : 2-3 tblsp (I used store bought) 

Goda Masala : 1 tblsp 

OR 

Garam Masala Powder : ½ tsp 

Kashmir Red Chilly Powder/ Mirchi Powder : 1 tblsp 

Coriander/ Dhania/ Kothimbir Powder : 1 tblsp 

Cumin/ Jeera Powder : ¾ tsp 

Badisep/ Saunf/ Fennel Powder : ½ tps 

Haldi / Turmeric Powder : ½ tsp 

** Pick, clean and wash basmati rice in plenty of water. You can also use any other variety of rice you use for preparing the pulav usually like katsambar rice/ jeera rice etc. Here I have used Dawat Basmati Rice as it gives good results. Soak it in plenty of water for about 30 minutes. Then drain and rinse well under running water in a colander and then keep it aside in the colander for another 15-20 mins, shaking well for all the excess water to get drained off. 

** Clean and cut all the vegetable mentioned in the ingredients above into almost the same size. Bring 4 cups of water to a rolling boil in a vessel and then add in the beetroot and the carrots into it. Once they are ¼ cooked add in the cauliflower and gherkins and further cook till half done, finally add in the capsicum and cook all till just 80% done. Keep this ready while simultaneously we prepare the pulav. Do not add all veggies in one go, as the timings of cooking of each differs.

** Meanwhile heat ghee in thick bottomed kadai/ pan, when it melts add in all of the whole garam masala given in the list above and fry for a minute then add in ginger and garlic and further fry for another 2 minutes and finally add in the onion and continue to fry till translucent. Add in all of powder masala given in the above list and further fry for a minute. Do not let the masala get burnt, else the taste gets lost, so sprinkle some water if necessary while frying. 

** Now add in the soaked and drained rice and mix well and keep frying on low heat for a minute, then cover with a tight lid and keep it as it is for a minute. Now open the lid and add in the boiling water with veggies cooked just to 80%, add salt to taste and mix well. Bring all ingredients to a rolling boil. Now lower the heat to minimum and cover with tight flat lid. Place a vessel with about 3-4 cups of water in it and let cook till done. 

** Finally squeeze in the juice of half lime and mix well. You can garnish with handful of finely chopped coriander leaves, as it gives a nice taste, but I did not have any, so did not add them. Remove from fire add on top a tablespoon of ghee and cover with the lid and keep it aside for about 15-20 minutes for the flavors to seep in and the pulav to settle well. This is a very spicy pulav so the quantity of ghee is slightly more and it does need that much. You can cut down both spice and ghee level if need be. 

** “Spicy Malvani Masala Vegetable Pulav” is done and ready to be served. This is a spicy pulav/ pulao, so there is no need of any spicy gravy dish for the same and tastes great when served with simple fresh homemade curds or simple veggie raita too. However, if desired or if you cut down the spice level, you can serve it with any side dish veg. or non-veg of your choice or you can serve it even with some flavorful chutney like I served. Do try this pulav out and enjoy with your family and friends.