Shaswati Pulao is a popular rice main course in India. There are several varieties of pulao. Basanti Pulao is one sweet variety of this dish, which is popular in Eastern part of India, primarily in West Bengal. The word Basanti refers to bright yellow color, which is the color of the dish.
Long grain basmati rice is the perfect rice for pulao. The quality of rice have a significant effect on its taste, so choose wisely.
Basanti Pulao is the great combo with Chicken Curry, Chicken Kasha, Fish curry or any other spicy thick curry.
Keep in touch for more pulao and other tasty recipes.
This dish is heavy to digest and contains a lot of calories. So, its ok to have once in a while, not recommended for having regularly. Please read below for the recipe.
INGREDIENTS
*1 cup-240ml; *1 tablespoon – 15ml ; * 1 teaspoon – 5ml ;
- Rice – 1 cup
- Cashew – 10-15 pieces
- Raisin – 10-15 pieces
- Bay leaf – 1 piece
- Cinnamon – 1 inch
- Cardamom – 4 pieces
- Clove – 4 pieces
- Ginger paste – 1/2 tsp
- Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
- Sugar – 2 tbsp.
- Salt – 1 tsp
- Ghee / clarified butter – 2 tbsp.
- Warm water – 2+1/2 cup
Equipment
- Normal Fry Pan
Notes
How to make Basanti Pulao
Step 1: The very first step for this recipe is take the 1/2 cup of rice in medium size of bowl. Now wash it for 2 times in running water and then add 1 cup of normal water into it. Cover with a plate and let it be for 20-25 minutes to soak it properly.
Step 2: Now rice is soaked evenly, We need to drain out all the water from it. Try to use a strainer to strain each drop of water. After that add 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder into the rice and mix them very well.
Step 3: It’s time to cook, so take a fry pan and heat it for a while. Now add 2 tbsp. of ghee (Clarified butter) into it and wait till it melts.
Step 4: Here we will add 1 bay leaf and raw garam masala (Cardamom, cinnamon, clove,) fry them for a while.
Step 5: After that we will add cashew, raisins and ginger paste into the ghee and fry them for 1 minutes.
Step 6: On that stage, we will the the soaked rice into the fried cashew and garam masala.
Step 7: Now the most important part of the recipe is we have to fry the rice on ghee until it gets dry. You can see that every rice grain are easily separated after properly fried. If frying is not proper, the dish will be sticky.
Step 8: We need warm water to add into the rice. So take 2+1/2 cup of water in a separate sauce pan and parallelly heat it for 10 minutes.
Step 9: At this point add the warm water into the rice. Wait for boiling and then add 1 tsp of salt. Mix them well and cover the fry pan with a lid and cook for 10 minutes on low flame.
Step 10: Now open the lid add 2 tbsp. of sugar and little more ghee on top of the rice. Mix it well, cover it again and cook for another 5 minutes.
Step 11: Switch off the stove wait for another 10 to 15 minutes. After that serve it with any type thick curry and fresh salad. I hope your family will like it very much.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the ingredients for basanti pulao?
Main ingredients of basanti pulao is rice, Turmeric, dry fruits and ghee.
And to make the basanti pulao perfectly, follow my recipe step by step.
I hope you will get the authentic Bengali Basanti Pulao on your plate.
Is basanti pulao and biryani are same?
No It’s not. Basanti pulao and biryani are entirely different dish.
Pulao is sweet, colorful and full of ghee. On the other hand biryani is spicy, less colorful and full of aroma.
What make yellow color in basanti pulao?
To get this yellow color in basanti pulao, I prefer to use turmeric powder. I will not recommend to use food color for this recipe. Turmeric is sufficient.
Is basanti pulao good for health?
Pulao contains lots of ghee and Dry fruits. So I would suggest you to have or make it in any special occasion only. It is difficult to digest and contains a ton of calories. Its tasty but not particularly a healthy dish.
Where is Pulao found?
Pulao is a rice dish, which is found under Bengali Cuisine. Pulao is very famous among the Bengali people.
Love this recipe. Add saffron also with milk.
Thanks for your suggestion. Will definitely try.
I love this recipe but always gets sticky. Will try your tips. Thanks for the recipe.
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