Vegetable Ghee rice recipe with stepwise photos. Simple, aromatic, and quick to make vegetable ghee rice that can be served either as a simple meal or an exotic and rich party-worthy meal.
This vegetable ghee rice tastes absolutely delicious on its own and even better when served with a simple dal, chips or pappads.
This rice makes for a wholesome meal, in itself can be made for pot lucks or while entertaining guests at home as it does not involve any elaborate preparation.
It is also great to pack for office or school lunch boxes when you are pressed hard for time on weekdays.
Table of Contents:
About Vegetable Ghee Rice
Vegetable Ghee rice is one of the easiest one-pot meals you can make in a jiffy. It is quick, fuss-free and makes for a great main dish to be served at parties and get-togethers.
It is made by tempering whole spices in ghee, to which mixed vegetables, soaked basmati rice is added, fried for a bit & cooked in water to fragrant perfection to which nuts and dried fruits are added before serving.
Unlike ghee rice which is sort of plain, this one has a lot of veggies which makes for a satiating meal experience.
It tastes perfect and becomes a wholesome meal when served with an elaborate platter of dals or curries made of paneer and vegetables.
You can take it to a whole new exotic level by garnishing it with bite-size chunks of pineapples and pomegranate arils as well, along with fried nuts and birista.
Ingredients
Rice: I have used basmati rice, which works best. Any good brand of aged basmati rice will do. You can also use ‘seeraga samba’ rice or zeera rice.
Ghee: This makes the rice. Ghee brings in the flavour and aroma of the rice.
Whole spices: Cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, mace, star anise, bay leaf, black peppercorns & nutmeg.
Vegetables: Onions, green chilli and ginger.
Others: I have added roasted cashew nuts and raisins.
How to make Vegetable Ghee Rice
To make vegetable ghee rice,
Heat a pressure cooker with ghee.
After it melts, add whole spices - bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, mace, black peppercorns, star anise and nutmeg.
Fry them till aromatic and add in onions, green chillies, and ginger.
Sauté till the onions turn translucent and tip in the vegetables - cauliflower, carrots, beans and peas.
Mix till the vegetables are coated with ghee and then add in soaked, drained basmati rice.
Fry the rice for a few mins till they become slightly crisp.
Add water, salt and give it a stir, close with lid and pressure-cook.
After the pressure is released, open the lid and fluff up the rice.
Sprinkle with ghee roasted cashew nuts and serve hot.
Instant Pot Instructions
Start the Instant Pot in ‘sauté’ mode.
Follow the above instructions of frying the spices, add vegetables, rice, salt and water.
Close with the lid, making sure that the lid is in ‘sealing’ position and pressure-cook.
After the cooking completes, do a quick release to release pressure.
Gently fluff with a fork before serving hot.
Recipe Notes
Always use a good brand of aged basmati rice and rinse it well to get rid of excess starch, as that's what makes the rice fluffy after cooking.
It is important that you fry the rice in ghee to ensure that you get the perfect textured rice.
You can either use homemade ghee or a good brand of store-bought ghee, which is the key to giving you a bowl of fragrant and aromatic rice.
Nutrition Profile
This vegetable ghee rice recipe is
- Egg-Free
- Gluten-Free
- Soy-Free
- Vegetarian
FAQ’s on Vegetable Ghee Rice
For every 1 cup of basmati rice, if cooking in
- Stovetop pressure cooker, use 1-½ cups water.
- Instant Pot, use 1-¼ cups water.
- Open pan, then use 2 cups of water and cook covered.
Only ghee is used to make this rice. But since it is highly caloric, you can substitute half of the ghee with any neutral-flavoured oil like sunflower or rice bran oil.
But you need to avoid altogether cooking in the oil only, as it defeats the purpose of making this aromatic rice.
Aged basmati rice makes the best veg ghee rice. You can also use a short-grained rice variety like the 'Seeraga Samba' as it is more fragrant than compared to regular raw rice.
If you do not mind the slightly hard and chewy texture, then you can also use Brown Basmati Rice.
The rice tastes best when consumed on the same day itself. Make only the required quantity to avoid having any leftovers.
Yes, of course. If you are allergic to nuts, then simply serve the rice as such, but note that they do add a nice crunch while eating.
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Recipe
Vegetable Ghee Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Basmati Rice
- 1 cup Mixed Vegetables I used carrots, beans, peas & cauliflower
- 2 tablespoon Ghee or Clarified Butter
- 1 Green Chili slit lengthwise
- 1 Onion cut into juliennes
- 1 teaspoon Ginger minced
- Salt to taste
- Water as needed depending on cooking method see instructions below
Whole Spices
- 2 Cardamom
- 2 inch Cinnamon stick
- 2 to 3 Cloves
- 1 Mace
- 1 Star Anise
- 1 Bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon Whole black peppercorns optional
- 1 pinch Grated Nutmeg optional
For Garnish (optional)
- 1 tablespoon Fried onions or Birista
- 10 Ghee roasted cashew nuts
- 10 Ghee roasted raisins
Instructions
Preparation
- Take basmati rice in a bowl. Rinse it well with water 2 to 3 times by gently rubbing them with fingertips till the water runs clear.
- Add more water and let them soak for 30 mins. Drain the water completely before cooking.
Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method
- Heat a pressure cooker with ghee. Once it melts, add the whole spices - bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, mace & star anise. Add nutmeg and black peppercorns (if using).
- Fry them for 10 to 15 secs till they are aromatic and well roasted.
- Add onions, green chillies, and ginger. Sauté till the onions turn translucent.
- Add mixed vegetables and mix them till they are coated well with ghee.
- Add drained rice to the cooker, and fry for 3 to 4 mins over low flame while stirring continuously. Add 1½ cups water, salt and mix gently.
- Close with lid and pressure cook for 2 whistles over medium flame. Switch off the stove. Open the lid as soon as the pressure releases naturally.
- Gently fluff up the rice with a fork and serve hot garnished with birista, roasted cashews and raisins.
Instant Pot Method
- Turn on the 'Sauté' function. When the display shows ‘Hot’ add ghee and let it melt.
- Add all the whole spices - cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, mace, star anise and bay leaf. Add peppercorns and nutmeg (if using). Fry for 10 to 20 secs till the spices become fragrant.
- Add onions, green chilli and ginger. Sauté till the onions turn translucent.
- Add drained rice and fry for 1 min. Keep stirring continuously to prevent it from sticking to the pan.
- Add 1¼ cup water, salt and mix gently. Press any rice sticking to the sides of the pan into the water.
- Press 'CANCEL' & then press the' PRESSURE COOK' button. Set the pressure level to 'LOW', heat to 'NORMAL' & the cooking time for 5 mins. Close with lid, making sure that the vent is in 'Sealing' position.
- After the cooking finishes, wait for 5 mins and carefully release the pressure (quick release) by flipping the vent to 'venting' position. After all the pressure is released, the pin drops.
- Open the lid, add the roasted cashew nuts, raisins and mix gently, fluffing up the rice.
- Serve garnished with birista on top with any side dish of your choice.
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Kavi...
You're gonna have a tiring time accepting my comments! 😀 I love this ghee rice concept!
Nithu Bala
Lovely recipe..love your click..looks too delicious.
ruchikacooks
Nice and simple. Looks tasty.