• Basmati rice – 1cup
• Water – 1.5 – 1.75 cups

To saute in oil

• Cooking oil + ghee – 2tbsp + 2tsp
• Bay leaf – 1no
• Star anise – 1no
• Lichen or Black stone flower – Kalpasi – 1/2 tsp (please see the picture in step by step & refer notes)
• Vegetables – 3/4 cup (carrot-1no ,beans-8nos, green peas-1/4cup, potato – 1no)
• Big onion – 2 nos (medium sized)
• Red chilli powder – 1/2 – 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp

To grind

• Big onion – 1/4 no (use only quarter piece)
• Green chillies – 3- 4 nos (small finger size)
• Mint leaves – 10 nos
• Fennel seeds – 3/4 tsp
• Cinnamon – 1 small piece
• Clove -2 nos
• Cardamom – 1 no
• Ginger – 1 inch piece
• Garlic – 5-6 pods(small)
• Cashews – 2 nos (optional)

• Wash and soak the basmati rice for at least 30-45 minutes. Else you have to add 2 cups of water for 1 cup of rice. Chop all the vegetables and onions(finely)  & grind the masala. Keep it ready.

• In a pressure cooker or rice cooker base, heat oil+ghee and add the bay leaf, star anise and kalpasi. Then add the onions, saute for a minute or two. Now add the ground masala paste. Wash the jar with very little water and add it. Saute well in medium flame till you get a nice aroma(People sitting in living room will definitely come to your kitchen by the aroma;))

• Add turmeric and red chilli powder. Saute for a minute. Lastly add the vegetables and required salt. Mix well. Drain the water from the soaked rice and add it. Mix well for a minute.

• Lastly add 1.5-1.75 cups of water (depending on the basmati rice brand) and a tsp of ghee and pressure cook in low flame till one whistle or 10-12 minutes.
• Remove, mix with a fork like ladle.

Serve hot with any raita.I served with mixed vegetable raita and its recipe follows.

Click here for Masala vada recipe, Curd Rice recipe 

• Do not add more mint leaves and onion than the above mentioned quantity. Do not use turmeric powder to get white colored pulao. Add more green chillies if you want too spicy.
• Add oil/ghee generously when you make for parties or guests.
• If you have Lichen or Black stone flower – Kalpasi, please add it. Mostly U’ll get this ingredient in biryani masala packet. It gave a nice smell to the pulao. Please click this link to see the picture of this ingredient. Skip if you don’t have it.
• Adding water depends on the amount of soaking. If you soak for one hour, add 1 to 1.5 cups of water. Here I used around 1.75 cups of water after soaking the rice for about 15 minutes as my husband likes that way. I used India gate basmati rice.

• Finely chopped big onions – 2 nos
• Finely chopped cucumber – 1/2 no(small size)
• Finely chopped green chillies – 1-2  nos if small 
• Grated carrot – 1 medium no
• Salt – as needed
• Fresh thick curd – 2-3 cups

• Finely chop all the vegetables. Mix well in a big bowl adding the required salt. Just before serving add the curd, Mix well without adding water. Tempering is not needed. Serve with pulao/biryani.

Note

Cucumber will leave water and the mixture will become watery if you mix curd in advance. So add curd only 10 minutes before serving. After mixing, if you feel the mixture is too thick, add little water. Else do not add water.