Matar Pulao recipe. How to make Indian Matar pulav at home

Matar Pulao

Matar Pulao is a flavorful, aromatic rice in which green peas are cooked with whole garam masala and green chilies for that mesmerizing flavor. Though very less ingredients are used for preparing this fantastic pulav recipe, but in taste its simply outstanding.

Matar Pulao is my husband’s favorite delicacy, he loves green peas in any form , but loves more over in mutor pulao, which he calls mutor chawal. In fact he loves it so much that I have to add 500 gm green peas for 2 1/2 cup rice. But then too his complain remains the same , ” mutor kuch kam nahi ? ”

Matar Pulao can be served with any gravies , veg or non – veg, but I serve with emli gud kachumbar ( that’s what we refer it as, in our mother tongue , but in simple language it means Raita ) , just serve the matar pulav in dish and pour this sweet and spicy onion raita on it , trust me you will love the taste.Though the matar pulao itself is so tasty and mesmerizing that it doesn’t need any gravy or accomplishments to complete it.

I usually make matar pulao once in a week , sometimes I replace it with mutton and sometimes with chicken , and sometimes i make my authentic mutton pulao, though I have posted it earlier on my blog , the recipe of Authentic Mutton Pulao / Memoni Mutton Pulao , I hope you all must have liked it.

INGREDIENTS :

2 and 1/2 cups pulav rice|basmati rice
200 – 250 gms green peas or frozen peas
2 – 3 bay leaves
3- 4 pepper corns
3-4 cloves
1 small piece of cinnamon
2 black cardamom
1 -2 green cardamom
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 star anise
3 tbsp ginger garlic paste
4 medium sized finely chopped onions
3 – 4 tbsp thick curd
8 – 10 green chilies
chopped coriander leaves
salt as per taste
oil

METHOD:

1. Wash rice in running water 3 – 4 times and soak it in clean water for about half an hour. ( but I have taken surti kolam rice so i just washed and soaked for 15 mins but if you using basmati rice then soak for 1/2 an hour )

2. If you have taken frozen peas , then just wash it under running water and in a vessel boil it with desired water , salt and 1/2 tp of sugar.But if you using green peas pods, so peel the peas off from the pod, wash it and then boil it with the mentioned ingredients.

3. In a deep thick bottomed vessel add oil and the whole spices that is bay leaves, cumin seeds, cinnamon,pepper corns, cloves,cardamoms, & let it splutter.

4. Now add onions and fry until they turn translucent , add ginger garlic paste and fry until raw smell disappears.

5. Now add curd and saute for a minute or two , add salt, crushed green chilies and chopped coriander leaves and fry for sometime until oil separates.

6. Now add 5 cups of vegetable stalk or water and bring to a boil, add desired salt for rice portion, drain rice and add to the prepared mixture ( when the water is boiling)

7. Once half water has dried up, drain the peas from the water & add to the rice, slow down the gas, adjust salt and if needed add slitted whole green chillies, place the vessel on iron griddle. ( previously hot the griddle on high flame and when you place the pulao vessel on it slow down the flame)

8. Cover with the lid ,( if possible keep anything heavy weighted on the lid so that the steam remains inside itself and so the rice will get cooked in the steam itself). Cook on low flame until the rice is completely done.

9. Serve hot with sweet and sour onion raita ( Click here for its recipe )

NOTE:

If the water has dried up and yet the rice need to be cooked then sprinkle 1/2 cup of water all over aknee/ pulao, cover and cook till its completely done.
Do not stir it every now and then, once you cover matar pulao with the lid, by doing this you will prevent the long strands of rice from breaking .
If you want you can add potatoes in matar pulao ( peel and chopped into four pieces) and add during the time you add water in which rice is cooked.
Cooking time may vary, depending on the green peas quality.
Best when served with sweet and sour onion raita.
If you serving pulao with raita then make sure that you add less green chilies, as in the kachumber ( onion rata) chopped green chilies are added to give a spicy flavour, its your choice that if you want your rice to be spicy then do not add green chillies to onion emli gud raita , or if you want your accomplishment to be spicy then add less chilies to the pulao.
You can add the mutor ( peas) during the time when you add green chilies and coriander leaves, or at the time when you add rice or the way here I have mentioned , even if you do not separately boil the peas, that’s not a problem, I have made in all these mentioned ways, they all turn out good.
If you feel that green peas are very tough nut to be cooked at the last moment , then add peas add the time when you add green chilies and coriander leaves, so that they get cooked properly during the whole preparation time.
I use loads of peas in my matar pulao recipe, so if you not in favor then take as per your preference, here in these pics I have take 400 gms for 2 1/2 cup rice.
Increase or decrease the green chilies as per your taste in my matar pulao recipe .
Adding sugar to peas during the time of boiling will not make it that sweet, so do not worry that they might get sweet, in fact you get a better taste as nowadays the peas are so unreal ( without any taste ) in the market.