Achari Vegetable Pulao | Pickle flavored Pilaf Recipe

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Spicy and delicious Achari Vegetable Pulao. It is flavored with achar aka spicy Indian pickle and whole pickle spices. Great one pot meal for weeknights.

We are starting a new month of Blogging Marathon today and my theme for this week is ‘One Pot Dishes‘. Who doesn’t like one pot meals, they are easy to make, very convenient and only 1 dish to clean. For the first day I made this spicy and delicious Achari Vegetable Pulao.

One Pot Rice Recipe:

Being a south Indian many of my one pot dishes revolve around ‘rice’. So when I saw this Achari Chana pulao recipe on Tarla Dalal’s site, I knew I had to give it a try.

This pulao is interesting in that it has ‘achar’ or spicy Indian pickle added right into the dish. Usually pickles are served with a dish and not in a dish, so that makes this dish spicy and very flavorful.

Ingredients in Achari Vegetable Pulao:

To make this achari flavored rice, the main ingredients are the achar/ pickle and the pickling spices.

Pickling spices like nigella, fenugreek, mustard and fennel seeds emphasize the achari flavor in the dish. Original Tarla Dalal’s recipe had only chickpeas, but I added some mixed vegetables to make it more substantial and a filling one pot meal. Chickpeas can be replaced with paneer or tofu.

What achar/ pickle to use to make this Pulao:

Any of your favorite mildly spicy or extra spicy achar can be used in this recipe. I always have a jar of my mom’s tomato pickle in the fridge and I used that in hear. It is not very spicy but definitely has a kick. A spoon of Andhra mango pickle (avakaya) would make this pulao extra spicy and absolutely delicious.

But feel free to use any pickle you have on hand. If you are in the market to buy achar/ pickle, then I would suggest to stick with mild flavored ones than super spicy.

How to make Achari Pulao:

I used to make this pulao in the pressure cooker before I got into the Instant Pot wagon. I have included instructions for both methods in the recipe.

• In a pressure cooker or an instant pot (on saute mode), heat ghee and add fennel seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, nigella seeds, cardamom, cumin seeds and asafoetida. Cook till the seeds start to splutter.
• Add the onions and ginger-garlic paste; cook till they turn lightly browned around the edges, about 3~4 minutes.
• Add the mixed vegetables, chickpeas, turmeric, chili powder, garam masala, salt and the achar/ pickle. Cook for 2~3 minutes.
• Add the rice and mix well. Cook on medium flame for 1~2 minutes.
• Add 3 cups of hot water, mix well and pressure cook for 2 whistles. If using the Instant Pot, cancel the saute mode and press the pressure cook/ manual mode and cook on high for 4 minutes.
• Allow the pressure release naturally before opening the lid. Stir in chopped cilantro into the rice. Serve hot.

This is a quick and easy recipe to make on a weeknight but tasty enough to make for guests.

Print Recipe

Achari Vegetable Pulao Recipe

Spicy and delicious Achari Vegetable Pulao. It is flavored with achar aka spicy Indian pickle and whole pickle spices. Great one pot meal for weeknights.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time40 mins

Course: Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine: Indian, north indian

Servings: 4 Servings

Author: Pavani

Ingredients

• 1½ cups Basmati Rice, soaked for at least 15 minutes
• 2 tbsp Ghee
• 1 tsp Fennel seeds
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp Fenugreek seeds
• 1 tsp Nigella seeds
• 2 Cardamom pods
• ½ tsp Asafoetida (hing)
• 1 Large Onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp Ginger-garlic paste
• 1 cup Mixed vegetables (chopped carrots, green beans, cauliflower etc)
• ½ cup Chickpeas, boiled
• ½ tsp Turmeric
• ½ tsp Red Chili powder
• ½ tsp Garam masala
• To taste salt
• 2 tbsp Achar/ Pickle (I used some homemade tomato pickle, but any other achar would also work)
• 2 tbsp Cilantro, finely chopped

Instructions

• In a pressure cooker or an instant pot (on saute mode), heat ghee and add fennel seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, nigella seeds, cardamom, cumin seeds and asafoetida. Cook till the seeds start to splutter.
• Add the onions and ginger-garlic paste; cook till they turn lightly browned around the edges, about 3~4 minutes.
• Add the mixed vegetables, chickpeas, turmeric, chili powder, garam masala, salt and the achar/ pickle. Cook for 2~3 minutes.
• Add the rice and mix well. Cook on medium flame for 1~2 minutes.
• Add 3 cups of hot water, mix well and pressure cook for 2 whistles. If using the Instant Pot, cancel the saute mode and press the pressure cook/ manual mode and cook on high for 4 minutes.
• Allow the pressure release naturally before opening the lid. Stir in chopped cilantro into the rice. Serve hot.

Notes

• Use any of your favorite Achar/ pickle. I used my mom’s tomato pickle but any mango or chili pickle will work well in this recipe.

Few More Quick & Easy Rice Recipes to try:

• Cheesy Italian Fried Rice
• 30 minute Rice & Beans
• Paneer Fried Rice

Let’s check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 71.