30mins Vegetable Rice!

30 mins?? Impossible, you think? Yes, its possible. Using a kitchen equipment found in most Indian households. The one and only what we Indian cooks can't live without - the humble pressure cooker.

Pressure cookers are a godsend especially when we are short of time. Pressure cooking is the process of cooking food using water or any other liquid in a tightly sealed vessel called a pressure cooker. As the liquid boils, the trapped steam increases the internal pressure and allows the temperature to rise to a whopping 212 deg C! (See pic above) So, food is cooked so much faster and it saves time and energy. Almost any food that requires cooking in water can be cooked in a pressure cooker.

There are so many types of pressure cooker in the market. Cylindrical, pan shape,  aluminium or non-stick base etc. The market is flooded. Purchase one based on your family needs.

30 min Vegetable Rice involved quick preparation and cooking. There I was wondering on a weekend afternoon at 12 noon what to cook for my family for lunch. I have seen many online videos about cooking our food in a pressure cooker and decided on this option, knowing the risk very well. Since its my first attempt, it can either become overcooked (too much water) and everyone will be having vegetable spiced porridge for lunch or worse undercooked (without enough water) and having carcinogenic burnt food instead. Not much of a choice I had at 12.15, didn't I? With a quick prayer I began....

Ingredients (Serves 2-3)
​1.5 cups Basmati Rice  (mix of brown and white) 
3 tbsp canola oil
1 large onion, chopped small
​1 heaped tsp mix of ground ginger and garlic
1 green chilli, cut into 3
1 red chilli, cut into 3
​2.5 tsps Veg Briyani spice powder (I used National Brand Veg Briyani Spice Powder) 
​2 large tomatoes, chopped
​1 cup of mixed frozen vegetables - peas, carrots, corns and french beans, thawed
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
1/3 cup of chopped mint and coriander leaves 
2.5 cups water (split into 0.5 cup and 2 cups)
​Salt per preference
​200gm cubed cottage cheese (paneer cubes) - optional
​Extra coriander leaves  and a handful of roasted cashews for garnish

Method
​1) Firstly, wash and soak the Basmati rice for only 15 mins.  Preparation of vegs will take up roughly 10 mins.

2) While the rice is soaking, heat the pressure cooker and fry the chopped onion, ginger garlic mix and both the chillies in oil for 5mins on medium high heat.  

3) Add the Veg Briyani spice powder and fry for 2 mins.

4) Chopped tomatoes go in next. Stir often after adding them in, to prevent food from sticking to the base especially if you are using an aluminium pressure cooker. Fry for 3 mins.

5) After the tomatoes have cooked and turned mushy, add in the mixed vegs, coriander and mint leaves. Add 0.5 cup water and let the whole mix cook for 5 mins.

6) By now, the 15 mins would have been up. Drain the soaked rice and keep aside. 

​7) After the vegs have been cooking for 5 mins, add in the soaked drained rice.

8) Combine everything and add the cubed cottage cheese. I added these cubes for addition of protein. Its optional if you have boiled eggs and or other source of protein on the side. Do not add these cottage cheese cubes too early as they are very soft and will dissolve easily.

9) Add 2 cups of water and mix again.

10) Cover and cook on high heat. Once you get a first whistle, reduce fire to medium heat and wait for 2 whistles. Switch off the fire and let it cool down completely.  

CAUTION - do not open the pressure cooker when it is still hot. The pressure inside is highly compressed and can be explosive. You can get badly hurt.     

11) After it has cooled completely, open the lid and this is how it should look. 

12) Enjoy scrumptious Vegetable Rice made under 30 mins!