Chana Pulao/Pilau – Chickpeas and Rice Pilaf
Soft chickpeas and fluffy fragrant rice, Chana pulao is a delicious Indian and Pakistani rice dish. It’s perfect for those days when you want to put the least effort into cooking but still want something delicious that your family will enjoy.
Children especially love this rice. I love making this because it’s a one-pot recipe, that makes my home smell delicious!
Though there are many pulao recipes, for example, Matar Pulao, Chicken Pulao, or Keema Pulao, this Chana pulao recipe is one of my family’s favourites.
Read on to find out how I make this simple and easy-to-follow recipe! Chana Pulao will have you hooked!
About Chana Pulao
Chana pulao, or chickpea and rice pilaf, is the perfect one-pot, minimal recipe. You know I love a simple and delicious recipe, and this is both easy and basic. The result is mouthwatering!
Chana pulao requires white chickpeas, or Kabuli chana and Basmati rice. Kabuli chana is also known as Garbanzo beans or Egyptian beans. If you like Indian cuisine and make some at home, you will have all the ingredients to make this Pulao in your pantry.
The golden and tender chickpeas, coupled with the aromatic and lightly spiced Basmati rice, are perfect! Additionally, serve the rice with a cooling yoghurt-based raita and a fresh green salad. Now, that’s a meal!
You may have heard of Biryani, which is a raging success worldwide. A pulao is very different from a biryani. Pulao rice is lightly flavoured and not spicy. It is often paired with a gravy or shorba. On the other hand, biryani is spicy and has a meat masala as its base.
Reasons to Love this Recipe
- Do you have kids? Then you are going to love my recipe! Chana pulao is a kid-friendly recipe because of the soft chickpeas and rice. Your children will want seconds…You can thank me later!
- This one-pot recipe is a time saver! It comes together quickly and in a single pot. As a result, there’s less clean-up for you!
- The ingredient list is short and you probably already have everything in your pantry.
- Chana pulao is a complete meal. You can serve it on its own, or with a raita or chutney. Either way, it’s delicious!
- This recipe is beginner-friendly because of the short ingredient list and easy method. There are no complicated and lengthy steps to follow. Moreover, you can go from stovetop to table in 30 minutes.
- And most importantly, it’s also a great recipe to feed a crowd. You can easily double the amount and make this for your next dinner party. Everyone will ask you for the recipe!
Ingredients
Now, let’s get down to business. Here’s a list of the ingredients:
- Chickpeas: I use boiled white chickpeas in my recipe. However, if you have a tin of boiled chickpeas, you can use that. If you have dried chickpeas, soak them overnight, and boil them with a teaspoon of salt in a pressure cooker for about 5-8 minutes or in a pan for about 40 minutes. The chickpeas should be soft to the touch.
- Basmati rice: I always use Basmati rice for pulao. I love the fine, long grains and the aroma. Although it’s easy to lose track of cooking time and be left with soft and mushy rice, the taste is delicious! But you can use Sella rice if you are not confident about cooking Basmati. It’s best to soak rice for at least half an hour or up to 2 hours before cooking.
- Spices: I use whole spices in my recipe. They release a delicious flavour and fragrance when fried.
- Onions: Onions are essential for a good pulao. They are fried at the beginning of the recipe, giving the pulao its authentic and rich colour. The darker you fry the onions, the richer and deeper the colour of the rice will be. But, be careful, you don’t want to burn them!
- Oil: Although the authentic recipe for pulao always uses ghee, I always use a neutral oil and add a tablespoon of ghee before letting the rice simmer at the end or leave it for dum.
For quantities, read the recipe card below.
Instructions
Here is the method to make delicious Chana pulao or Chickpea Pilaf.
First, heat ¼ cups of cooking oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the thinly sliced onions and sauté until they turn golden brown.
Heat your pan with 1/4 cup of oil.
Add 4 small, finely sliced onions, and fry till golden brown.
Once the onions are caramelized, add the whole spices, black cardamom, cloves, whole black peppercorn, green cardamom, cinnamon stick, and cumin. Allow these to fry for a minute.
Next, add the ginger garlic paste. This recipe uses less quantity of the paste because there is no meat in it. Let it fry for a minute.
When the onions are brown, add the whole spices: 2 green cardamoms, 1 black cardamom, 1 stick of cinnamon, 4-5 whole peppercorns, 3 cloves, and 1 tsp of cumin.
Next, add 1 tsp ginger garlic paste. And fry for a minute
Next, add 1/2 cup of water, and the salt. Cover the pan and let the onions fry and release their golden brown colour.
Now add the yoghurt and mix well. Cover the pan and let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
Next add 1/2 cup of water.
Add 1 tsp salt.
Cover the pan and let it cook.
Uncover and add 2 tbsp yoghurt. Mix it well.
When you uncover the pan, use a slotted spoon to mash and break up the onions, forming a paste. After 2 minutes, add the boiled chickpeas, rice and water to the pan.
Uncover the pan and, using a spoon, mash the onions to form a paste.
Now, add 150g boiled chickpeas.
Add 1 cup of soaked Basmati rice.
Pour in 2 cups of water.
Next, add salt and 2 green chillies. Cook it on high flame for 5 minutes with the lid partially covering the pan.
Add 1/2 tsp salt.
Add two green chillies.
Partially cover the pan and let it cook for 5 minutes.
Once the water has reduced halfway, cover the pan completely, turn the flame to medium and cook for a further 3-4 minutes.
The water has reduced halfway.
Now cover the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Next, add a few coriander leaves, reduce the flame to a simmer, and put the Pulao on dum for 10 minutes.
Now, add some coriander leaves and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Place the lid on the pan and let it cook on dum for 10 minutes.
Lastly, after 10 minutes, remove the lid and fluff up the rice.
Your Chana Pulao is ready to serve!
After 10 minutes, uncover the pan and fluff up the rice with a fork. Finally, your chana pulao is ready!
Hint: Fry the onions to a golden brown colour before adding water because this will give the pulao its golden colour.
When you put the pulao on dum, the water content should have reduced to a quarter of the original amount. You should be left with almost dry rice.
When the rice is cooked, fluff it up with a fork. Furthermore, this helps to avoid breakage.
Serve Chana Pulao on a large platter.
What to Serve with Chana Pulao?
Although I have mentioned before that chana pulao is a complete meal, but, if you need something to serve with it, here are some options:
- You can serve a simple chicken gravy, or Chicken Qorma with the rice.
- Make a refreshing green salad with cucumbers, lettuce, onions, carrots, and green chillies.
- Serve a mint and yogurt chutney or some pickles with the rice.
- You could also make simple potato cutlets or shami kebab!
Nevertheless, I enjoy this Chana pulao all on its own! Not to mention, children will love eating the soft chickpeas and rice, too. You won’t need to offer them anything on the side, either!
Equipment
Here’s a list of the equipment I used for this recipe:
- A large pot.
- A slotted spoon.
- Measuring cups
- Chopping board and knife
Top Tips
- The darker you fry the onions, the more colour your pulao will have.
- Fry the whole spices in the oil till you can smell their delicious aroma.
- Wash and soak the rice for at least half an hour before cooking it. Likewise, if you are using Sella rice, then soak it for at least 2 hours.
- To boil the chickpeas, wash and soak overnight or at least 8 hours before boiling. Chickpeas double in volume, so soaking 1 cup of chickpeas will result in 2 cups of boiled chickpeas.
FAQ
Yes, you can! Authentically, chana pulao is made using ghee.
Yes, in Asia, Kabuli chana is the most readily available type of chickpea. There are other types, too. White chickpeas are basically black chickpeas with the outer skin removed. However,the Kabuli chana is large and has a light colored outer coating.
I would not recommend freezing pulao, as the rice will lose its firm texture and become soggy. You can make it up to a day in advance and store it in the refrigerator. Microwave it to heat up before eating.
Related
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Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with [this recipe]:
