Cooking Rice and Biryani / Pulao – an easy Ayurvedic Recipe

Ayurvedic recipe for cooking Indian rice with vegetables called Biryani or Pulao

Cooking Rice and Biryani / Pulao – an easy Ayurvedic Recipe

2 cups of Basmati Rice
4 cups of water

100g Cauliflower
100g Carrots
100g Broccoli
100g Bell Pepper in different colours
50g Green Peas
50g Beans
50g Cashew nuts
50g Raisins

1 ½ Tsp Cumin
1 Tsp Garam Masala
1 Tsp Coriander
¾ Tsp Turmeric
1 Bay Leaf
1 Small Piece of Cinnamon
1 Tsp Fresh Ginger in small pieces

2 1/3 Tbsp Ghee
salt according to taste

First of all you should wash the rice. Then you put it into a pot together with the water. You add ½ Tsp ghee, salt according to taste and stir it once. Put a lid onto the pot and place it onto the stove. Turn the plates or the gas on high temperature and wait until the water is boiling. Maybe you need to lift the lid for one or two seconds to prevent it from boiling over. When it is boiling, you can turn the temperature low. Just let the rice cook for about ten to fifteen minutes until there is no water left in the pot. STOP! Don’t stir to check that! The rice will be nicer if you just put a knife into it and have a peek to the bottom of the pot. A good sign that you made great and tasty rice is, when the tips of the rice grain on top point upwards.
Have fun experimenting with rice, some like it dry, some like it a bit sticky and professionals swear that each grain should fall separate if you take it out of the pot and onto a plate. Whatever your taste is and with whatever you eat it, rice is always a nice part of a meal!

We will however go on and make Biryani out of it.

Biryany / Pulav in Ayurvedic Way

First of all I want to mention that some people like to eat Biryani with more vegetables while others prefer more rice. So the amounts that I mentioned here are just for your first try, after that you can increase and decrease according to your own taste.

Put some ghee in a wok and heat it up. When it is warm, add cumin, garam masala, coriander, turmeric, the bay leaves and a piece of cinnamon in the wok. Let the spice develop an aroma while stirring. Add the cashew nuts and in the end the raisins. Before the spices have a chance to burn and get black, you mix the vegetables in as well. Churn it, so that the spices are mixed with the vegetables and cover it with a lid.

Let the vegetables cook for a while in their own steam at medium heat and churn from time to time. After five to ten minutes however you need to take off the lid to make sure that the vegetables don’t get mashed in their own sauce. Now you cook them until all vegetables are soft and all water is vaporized.

Now you take the rice, which you have cooked before, out of its pot and put it into a wide pot which has enough space for both, the rice and the vegetables. You gently put the vegetables onto the rice and add as much salt on top as you believe necessary. With a light hand and as softly as you would mix a green salad, you now mix the rice with the vegetables. A good way to do this is with two big spoons from two sides of the pot.

And then you are ready to serve your freshly cooked Ayurvedic Biryani. If you want to make it look even nicer and give it a nice aroma, you can spread fresh green coriander on top.

Ayurvedic Benefits

Basmati Rice increases Kapha and Vata and balances excessive Pitta. The use of fresh ginger and turmeric balances the high values of Kapha and Vata created through the rice. The use of cumin increases the Pitta slightly and balances Kapha and Vata as well. With the mix of the vegetables used, this all melts down to a balancing Ayurvedic dish that can be enjoyed at any time!

Have fun cooking and eating!