Basanti Pulao is a Bengali delicacy, the polao which has a mild sweet taste, usually cooked on special occasions. This aromatic, delicious Pulao is often served with Kosha Mangsho (Bengali Spicy Mutton Curry), or Chanar Dalna (Bengali style Cottage Cheese Kofta Curry) for a vegetarian version.
Traditionally, this pulao is cooked with the famed, fragrant rice variety of Bengal, Gobindobhog Rice. If this rice is unavailable, then it can be cooked with any aromatic small grain rice variety, such as Ambemohar Rice.
The recipe is easy, it takes less than half an hour to cook this Pulao. The preparation part is also hassle-free, and that makes this dish a perfect one to prepare as part of an elaborate lunch spread. Basanti, a Bengali word, means the bright shade of yellow. This Pulao gets its yellow colour from turmeric powder and stands true to its name Basanti.
Don’t forget to share your experience with me if you’re trying this recipe. 🙂
Bengali Basanti Pulao / Mishti Polao
Basanti Pulao is a Bengali delicacy, the Bengali word ‘Basanti’ means a bright shade of yellow. This aromatic, delicious Pulao gets its yellow colour from turmeric powder and stands true to its name Basanti.
Ingredients
- 200g / 1 cup- Gobindobhog Rice (read notes)
- 500ml / 2 cups- Water
- 2½ tbsp- Ghee / Clarified butter
- 2 tbsp- Sugar
- Salt to taste
- ½ tsp- Turmeric powder
- ¾ tsp- Ginger paste
- 3 tbsp- Cashew nuts (broken) / Kaju badam
- 3 tbsp- Raisins / Kismis
- ⅛ tsp- Javitri / Mace powder
- ½ tsp- Garam masala powder
For tempering
- 2- Bay leaves / Tej patta
- 3- Cinnamon 1" pieces
- 4- Green cardamom (lightly crushed)
- 3- Cloves
Instructions
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Wash the rice 5-6 times under running water, drain, and keep aside over a strainer, leave it some time to drain the water well.
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Transfer the rice to a bowl. Add ½ tbsp of ghee, turmeric powder, ½ tsp salt, and ginger paste to it. Mix well, and keep aside for 30 minutes.
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Add the rice, cashew nuts, and raisins, mix well and cook for 5 minutes, keep stirring in-between.
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Now add water and salt, mix well and cook covered over medium heat.
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When the rice is half-cooked, add sugar, garam masala powder, and javitri powder, mix well and keep cooking covered until the rice is cooked through. Keep stirring gently in-between 1-2 times.
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Adding sugar and spice powders is essential at this stage because you can still handle the rice well when it’s half-cooked. Otherwise, the rice grains tend to get mashed afterward with too much of stirring, and the flavours from the spice powders don't blend well into the rice either if added later.
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The rice gets cooked within 15 minutes over medium heat. The measurement of water to rice is perfect, no need to add more water to cook the pulao, otherwise, you’d end up having a sticky mess. Cook the pulao covered all the time, don’t uncover it frequently during the cooking.
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Remove from the heat when the rice is done. Keep the pulao covered after cooking to get the nice aroma when you are going to have it.
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Serve Basanti Pulao hot with any curry of your choice.
Recipe Notes
If you live outside of Bengal and it's difficult for you to get Gobindobhog Rice, then you can cook this Pulao with Broken Basmati Rice as well. I've cooked this Pulao with Broken Basmati quite a few times, and it turned out good always.
Watch the recipe video from the link below.
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