Mint Rice

This pudina pulao is very easy to make. I have pre-cooked plain rice. Cooked onion and mint puree with some whole spices and mixed it with cooked rice. If you have cooked rice ready then mint pulao can be ready in only 15 minutes. This recipe is my mom’s recipe. Mint (aka Pudina in Hindi) is very cooling and refreshing. In this summer season I have lots of mint growing up in our front garden. And suddenly it reminds me mom’s Pudina rice recipe and immediately made it. First time I made it 2 weeks ago and dear husband just loved it. So I made it again last weekend and that time I got chance to take some pics. With the remaining mint from garden, I have made mint juice recipe. Perfect for hot summer days. I have added onion, mint and few whole spices to make this rice; no spice powder is used. So it has good flavor of mint. I have added only 2 small green chilies, so it has mild spicy taste. Adjust it as per your taste. I have added some cashews nuts to give some crunch and texture to it. I have also fried some onions in the beginning and lastly garnished with it. because I just wanted to give a touch of biryani taste. Mom does not use nuts or fried onions; she usually makes simple mint rice. You can do her way as well. It will still taste good. Check out other rice recipesSpinach rice  //  Coriander rice  //  Corn rice  //  Capsicum rice  // Beetroot rice

Step By Step Photo Instructions:

PREP: First cook the rice. Here is the recipe on how to cook basmati rice. To get 3 cups of cooked rice you will need 1 cup of raw rice. If you have leftover rice, you can use that as well.

1. Wash mint leaves very well.
2. Take mint leaves, green chilies, ginger and garlic to the blender. And grind it into a smooth paste adding very little water.
3. Heat the oil in pan on medium heat. Once hot add cashews and fry it till it gets golden brown. Drain and remove it to a plate.
4. Now add handful of sliced onions in the same oil and fry it till it get golden brown and crispy. This step is purely optional. I wanted to make it like biryani style so I have fried some. You can totally skip this. 5) Once browned remove it to the plate and keep it aside.
5. Now in the same oil, add bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Let it cook for few seconds, you will get nice aroma.
6. Then add cumin seeds, let them sizzle.
7. Then add remaining sliced onion. Sprinkle salt and mix it. If your cooked rice has salt in it then be careful while adding salt here.
8. Let it cook till it gets translucent or pink.
9. Then add mint paste.
10. Let it cook for 1-2 minutes and all the moisture will evaporates.
11. Add cooked rice.
12. Mix it very gently so rice grains do not break.
13. Garnish with cashews and fried onions and serve. Serving suggestion: Serve this mint rice with plain yogurt or raita like onion raita, onion tomato raita, boondi raita. You can pack this in kid’s or adults lunchbox with raita in separate container. Did you try this mint rice recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a review in the comment section below.