Shahi Pulao Recipe:

Shahi Pulao is one of the delicacies fragrant and heavily aromatic, expensive too, cooked from the nobility of kitchens Mughal India. While such a flavour, made by expensive ingredients and finer spices, were for royal offerings like some of the commonly prepared biryanis, the dish, which Shahi Pulao represents is far much more simplified in its approach though not one single step behind its cousin’s magnificence. Shahi Pulao is very delicious, mixed with tender chunks of meat-be it mutton or chicken-plus basmati rice with some dry fruits along with a perfect blend of spices. It is delicious in taste and touches your soul with its texture all the time while you serve this recipe-whether it be some grand ceremony or just wanting to indulge yourself in a lovely treat.

We will find here all the ingredients, and each step in cooking this Shahi Pulao recipe, and ways for taking up its taste and presentation standards from the comfort of your home in the following lines.

Ingredients of Shahi Pulao

To make a scrumptious Shahi Pulao, one needs to be pretty careful with the ingredients that must be of the best quality possible and judiciously balanced flavors. So here’s what you’ll need for this royal recipe:

For Rice:
Basmati Rice – 2 cups
Water – 4 cups
– 1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)
– 1 bay leaf
– 2-3 green cardamom pods
– 1-inch cinnamon stick
– 4-5 cloves
– 1-2 star anise
– 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
– Salt to taste

For the Meat (Optional)
– 250 grams of mutton or chicken, cut into pieces (you can also use vegetables for a vegetarian version)
– 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
– 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
– 1 teaspoon red chili powder
– 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
– 1 tablespoon yogurt
– 1 tablespoon lemon juice
– Salt to taste

For the Pulao:
– 2 tablespoons ghee or butter
– 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, julienned
– 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, chopped very fine
– 1/2 cup mixed dry fruits (cashews, almonds, raisins, pistachios)
– 1/4 cup saffron milk-soaking a pinch of saffron in 1/4 cup warm milk
– 1 tablespoon rose water or kewra water (optional, for fragrance)
– 1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves, chopped
– 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

Shahi Pulao Recipe Preparation Instructions

Step 1: Preparing the Rice
Rinse the basmati rice in cold water to remove all excess starch. The cooked rice will not stick together as a result of this.
Bring 4 cups of water to boil in a huge pot. Add in a spoon of ghee, bay leaf, green cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, cloves, star anise, and cumin seeds in the boiling water. The whole spices are going to infuse water with a gorgeous aroma. Add the washed rice into the pot and cook for 7-8 minutes, until about 70% of the rice is cooked. This makes sure the rice will be mostly raw since it will also cook during its final dum that will be its final steaming.

After it has partially cooked, drain and let the water dry off by leaving the cooked rice apart.

2. Cooking the Meat:
If you are making the meat version of Shahi Pulao, cook the meat. Cook it in a medium-sized pan or pressure cooker by adding 1 tablespoon of ghee or oil over some fire. Add thinly sliced onions in it and sauté till golden brown. Remove half of the fried onions for garnishing purposes.

Now add the ginger-garlic paste to the pan and sauté for one minute or till it becomes fragrant. Add the pieces of mutton or chicken in the pan and cook almost for 5 to 7 minutes, so that the meat becomes partially brown in color.

Mix the red chili powder, garam masala powder, yogurt, lemon juice, and salt together with the mutton or chicken pieces. Keep stirring the mixture, and thereby, the spice will coat on the meat. With a pressure cooker, it should be covered with the lid and closed for about 15-20 minutes or so, until the meat becomes tender. With a pot, cover the meat and simmer for 40-45 minutes and add a little water, if need be, to be added to not dry up. Put the meat aside once it is soft and cooked.

3. Pulao Preparation:
In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, melt 2 tablespoons of ghee or butter. Add fresh ginger and garlic and sauté for a minute till fragrant. Add mixed dry fruits like cashews, almonds, raisins, and pistachios and sauté until the nuts are browned and the raisins have plumped. This gives rich nutty flavor to the ghee.

Add this cooked meat to the pan, along with all the juices or gravy left behind. Now mix all this together-the meat, the dry fruits, and ghee gently.

Now is the turn of the layers of rice: Pour half the half-cooked rice on this mixture of minced meat and dried fruits. Over the rice spread a few droplets of milk in saffron -the beautiful golden coloring and delectable smell with this touch adds beauty. However, for you to do even more; the droplets could be some fragrance in rose-water or kewra-water to it.

Spread the leftover rice over this layer and pour the leftover saffron milk on the top. Add a little extra ghee at this step if you like it too much, aromatically speaking. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and coriander leaves for freshness and fragrance.
4. Dum: Steaming the Pulao:
Once the layers are in, it is time to cook the Shahi Pulao on dum. Cover the vessel or pot with a lid so that steam does not leak out. However, if you do not have a tight-fitting lid, you may seal the pot by placing a damp cloth between the pot and the lid in order to seal the steam.

Put it over low heat and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. You can put a heavy pan or tava (griddle) below the pot so that the heat is well distributed. The slow-cooked time makes the rice soak up all the flavors from the meat and aromatic spices, and therefore, the pulao turns out fragrant and flavorful.

Once done steaming, turn off the heat and let the pulao rest for almost 10 minutes. Resting time is important so that the rice will be slightly firmer and all the flavors are set.

5. Serving the Shahi Pulao:
Fluff the pulao softly with a fork after it is well cooked. Then separate the grains. Lastly, garnish with whatever remains of fried onions and a few extra leaves of mint as well as coriander for presentation. And serve the same piping hot with raita (curd mixed with cucumber and spices), a salad, or some sour pickle.

Shahi Pulao Recipe Tips and Precautions

Quality of Rice: For Shahi Pulao, good quality basmati rice should be used. This gives the wonderful fragrance and long separated grains, making it a very special dish.
Meat Options: Mutton, chicken or even a vegetable version using mixed vegetables. For the dish to have a right texture, it is important that the mutton used is soft.
The use of Ghee as against Oil: Ghee will give Shahi Pulao that rich flavor, it closer brings the dish to its royal roots. It is one that one can replace with oil if desired, though ghee is most recommended for authenticity.
Spices: Whole spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves along with ground spices like garam masala produce a rich flavor. Make sure not to omit any to get the aromatic value at best.
Saffron: Soaked in warm milk, it adds flavor, fragrance, and richness in the pulao’s color. It is an expensive spice that brings royalty into this dish, making it look fabulous, along with the added scent that’s impossible to forget. In case of nonavailability, saffron can be completely avoided or little turmeric for coloring. It is a fragrant rice, tender meat or vegetables, and rich mix of spices which makes this dish sure to impress your guests and elevate any special occasion. This is the perfect balance of flavors and textures, making it a favorite among many, and now you can bring the grandeur of Mughal cuisine into your own kitchen with this recipe. Whether you want to make it an exciting festive fare or just an extremely tasty and lavish meal, Shahi Pulao is precisely what a royally sumptuous dinner will demand. Treat your palate with this one. Enjoy it.

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