Sweet Pulao
This story is from the mid 80’s and early 90’s when the Buffet system was yet to be introduced by the caterers in Mangalore. As a kid, the lunch/dinner service at a catholic Mangalorean wedding or any other function for that matter was nothing short of a theatrical act. First the catering staff would distribute the paper napkins and then form a human chain in the middle of the venue. Pre-served plates would be passsed from the kitchen through this human chain to all the guests one by one, starting with the Bride and the Groom.
The plates would have a pair of Sannas, a chicken/ mutton gravy, a veggie side and a beetroot salad. A second round of sannas would follow, followed by the Dukramaas a.k.a Pork Bafat (which was too spicy for my liking in those days.And then finally arrived this pot of pearl white rice with raisins and cashews followed by a maroon coloured chutney. One little taste, and the sweetness masked the spiciness from the pork and the chutney tasted heavenly like a match made in heaven.
From then on I was hooked on to this combo and I used to look forward to the next wedding I get to attend as this Sweet Pulao and the Plum Chutney strangely is available only at these functions and never featured on the menu of any restaurant.
Knowing how much I love this combo, with the help of Isidore Coelho’s “Randhpi” and observing what was served at the banquets, my mom would make this at home but never really nailed the chutney until much later (read about it in the Plum Chutney post).
Times have changed and the human chain has been replaced by the Buffet tables. The traditional menu has been replaced by more fancier dishes and my star of the show – the Sweet Pulao, makes a guest appearance sometimes at Mangalorean weddings, as Biriyani has taken its place. When I’m in Mangalore, my mom still makes the Sweet Pulao for me but I don’t miss it much anymore as I do make it myself now. Believe me it is a super simple recipe.
Accompaniments to the Sweet Pulao
The image above showcases an evergreen Mangalorean catholic banquet combo. The Sweet Pulao and Plum Chutney served with Pork Indad. Their presence is confined to rare guest appearances on the menu these days. But this shouldn’t stop you from enjoying them. Follow my recipes, cook them up, plate them and enjoy!
Indad is a Sweet, spicy and sour preparation with no individual taste profile overpowering the other. This Pork Indad complements the Sweet Pulao and the Plum Chutney really well. However, if this combo is too sweet for your liking, you can swap the Indad with the spicier ghee roast variants, my personal favourite being the Chicken Ghee Roast.
Try these out and let me know your thoughts and feedback. Enjoy!
Sweet Pulao
Ingredients
For the Garnish:
- 2 tbsp Ghee, divided
- 1 no Onion, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup Cashewnuts, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup Raisins
For cooking the Pulao:
- 2 tbsp Ghee
- 2 nos Green cardamom, bruised
- 2 nos Cloves
- 1 inch Cinnamon stick
- 1 no Bay leaf, small
- 1 cup Basmati rice, washed and soaked for 30 mins
- 1½ cup Freshly boiled water
- 2 tbsp White granulated sugar, (see notes)
- 1 tsp Salt, (adjust to your taste)
Instructions
Preparing the Garnish:
- In a frying pan, heat 1 tbsp ghee and fry the sliced onion till they turn golden brown. Take care to ensure that they do not burn. With the help of a slotted spoon, remove them on to a kitchen tissue and set aside
- Next, add the remaining ghee and fry the cashew nuts till they turn golden. When they start to turn golden, add the raisins to the pan. Fry till the raisins puff up. Do not let them burn. Remove the cashew nuts and raisins to a plate and set aside
Making the Pulao:
- In a large enough vessel, heat 2 tbsp ghee and fry the cardomom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf
- Parallely, bring the water to a boil
- Once you get a nice aroma from the spices, drain the soaked rice, add it to the vessel and fry it for a minute. Do not over-fry the rice as it will start to break
- Add 1½ cup of the freshly boiled water. Add the sugar and the salt and mix well. Bring this to a rolling boil. Check the taste and adjust the salt and sugar if needed
- Cover the vessel with an air-tight lid and cook it for 15 mins on the lowest possible flame
- At the end of 15 mins, do not open the lid. Take the vessel off the flame and let the contents steam for 5 mins.
- At the end of 5 mins, open the lid and fluff up the rice with a fork
- Garnish the rice with the fried onions, cashew nuts and raisins
- Serve it with Plum chutney!
Notes
- This pulao is supposed to be pearl white. Hence, avoid using any other sugar other than white granulated sugar to prevent the rice from taking the colour of the sugar
- Avoid reusing the ghee that was used to fry the garnish as this may impart a brownish tinge to the rice
- Adjust the salt and sugar to your preference to get your perfect blend of sweet and salt
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We tried this recipe and it turned out so good and flavourful .
Tasted exactly like the one we used to have in Mangalore weddings 😊
I tried this recipe and it tasted authentic and brought back memories of Mangalorean weddings.
Thank you for trying out the recipe and for the feedback. Much appreciated.