Keeping aside the battle of the names, let’s just be grateful for this amazing one pot delicacy, Pulao. The journey from Pela, to Pilau, to Pulao, Palaw and many more is a boon to easy and convenient cooking, but never to compromise on the taste. Pulao is a main course rice dish, cooked with stock or broth, meat, vegetables, dry fruits and is served hot.
Many confuse Pulao to be similar to Biriyani, but it is not the case. Though the preparation is quite similar, the process of cooking differs. Biriyani is prepared using the draining method, where the water from the rice is extracted or drained, whilst Pulao is prepared using the absorption method, where in the water along with all the other ingredients are cooked together.
More in detail about pulao recipe
Pulao Recipe
History
Pulao is a rice delicacy with its origin spread all over the globe from Spain to Afghanistan. It is said to have originated during 566-653 CE, where the process of cooking rice spread all over the world from India. Traces of rice cooked with meat are also found in the tales of Mahabharata.
Ingredients
As a One Pot Dish, pulao is quite convenient to prepare , it uses Basmati (Long rice) as its prime component, to which vegetable or meat broth is added along with spices and condiments, as fried onions, cardamom, bay leaves, cinnamon, which is cooked along with the steam, till the excess water is absorbed, this method is called the absorption method.
Varieties
Meat or vegetables both can be added to the rice. There are also plain rice versions of pulao in various regions. “Sade Pulao” is one such example of plain rice with minimum spices in Turkey. “Chedo” is the Persian version plain pulao whereas ”Ruzzmufalfal” is the Arabic term for the same .
Pulao or pilaf both have innumerable versions spread across the globe, but in today’s time there are 5 types of major Pulao recipe,
- Central Asian
- Indian
- Turkish
- Iranian
- Caribbean
Let us check some of the more regional varieties of pulao of the South Asian Continent.
- Veg Pulao: Often confused as Veg Biriyani, it is prepared using an array of vegetables and rice cooked together in a vegetable broth.
- Kashmiri pulao: One of the finest dishes of the Kashmiri cuisines. It is cooked using a variety of spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf, cumin seeds, cloves and ginger powder. Saffron and rose water are added at the end to enhance the flavors along with some fruits as a signature touch to this regional dish.
- Coconut Pulao: Also known as Nariyalmalai pulao recipe is an exotic blend of cashews and coconuts. This is prepared using whole condiments or spices along with some coconut milk .This is mainly consumed in the Maharashtrian and South Indian cuisine.
- Val Nu Pulao: This Gujarati preparation is exceptional for it doesn’t make use of vegetables or meat. It is made using sprouts, promoting a healthier version of rice.
- Kheema Pulao: This is prepared using minced meat (Kheema), this preparation is quite popular in the Middle Eastern countries.
- Yakhni Pulao: This dish is one of the most popular in Pakistan, it is a similar version of the Kashmiri Pulao, but with meat.
- Prawn Pulao: Seafood has also made a venture into the pulao culture. Recently people have actually started to have this non vegetarian food.
Pilaf and similar dishes are common to Balkan, Caribbean, South Caucasian, Central Asia, East Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Middle Eastern and South Asian cuisines. However it is a staple in countries Bangladesh, Azerbaijan, China, Cyprus, India, and Iraq.
A very prominent Spanish dish, called “Paella”, similar preparation with rice has quite a lot resemblance with that of Biriyani or rice dishes like these.
Pulao /Pilaf is in itself a global cuisine with varieties ranging from different regions, over the time, with different preparation methods, yet it manages to hold together the dish as a delicacy which reflects its own history and rich culture.
Naren Patel 