Bengali vegetable fried rice(aka Bengali white pulao or ghee bhat) is one of my family’s favourite dishes, so I often prepare it at home. This Bengali vegetable fried rice is made with fine basmati rice or dehradun rice, ghee, carrot, beans, cashew, kismish and a few whole spices.
Slighly sweet, ghee and whole spices flavoured, this delicious fried rice is a traditional dish of Bengali cuisine, prepared on any special occasion. This vegetable fried rice is served in Poila boishak(Bengali new year) to Jamaishosthi with chicken, kosha, mutton kosha and in Durga Puja to Kali Puja with niramish aloo dum.
For making this Bengali vegetable fried rice, rice is first cooked until 80- 90% done. Slightly blanch the veggies. Fry the veggies in ghee and whole spices, with a chopped little green chillies, a handful of cashews and kismish(raisins). Lastly, toss the veggies with rice, sugar, salt and garam masala powder.
My mom makes the best Bengali fried rice I’ve ever had in my life. This recipe is influenced by my mom’s method; however, today I add a few tricks to it.
My tricks make this fried rice more colourful and flavourful. Please stay with me till the end to know all the secrets to make a perfect Bengali fried rice at ease.
You can try this Bengali fried rice with my chicken kosha recipe, mutton kasha recipe, aloor dum recipe or even daab chingri recipe, dim kosha recipe.
Please let me know how it works in your kitchen and leave a comment in the comment box below.
Bengali vegetable fried rice recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups Fine Basmati rice/Long grain Dehradun rice
- 1+1/2 cup Green beans
- 1 1/2 cups Carrot (Julienne-cut)
- 1/2 cup Green peas
- 1 Green Chilli
- Cashew nuts(Handful)
- Raisins/Kismish(Handful)
- 1+1/2 tsp garam masala powder
- Whole Spices
- 3 Bay Leaves
- 8 tbsp Sugar
- 3 tbsp Ghee or Clarified Butter
- 2 tbsp Refined Oil
- Salt (as required)
For tempering
- 1+1/2 inch cinnamon stick(broken into 2-3 pieces)
- 5 Cloves
- 5 Green cardamom(remove the seeds from the pods and use it together)
- 3 Bay leaves
Prep time: 15 mins
cook time: 35 mins
served in: 50 mins
cuisine: Bengali
course: Lunch/Dinner
served for: 7 people
Author: Moumita Paul
Instructions
How to make Bengali vegetable fried rice with step by step pictures
Step 1: Boil the veggies:
- Wash all the veggies(carrot & green bean), cut the carrot into julienne or make small cubes.
- Finely chop the beans. I cut it as it is used in Chinese fried rice (called bias cut).
- Take a wide bowl with 1/2 of water in it, place it on medium heat and bring the water to a boil.
- When the water starts to boil, add the carrots, beans and green peas to the bowl. Add salt to it.
- It’s my secret (adding 1+1/2 tsp sugar to it ) to keep the veggies’ colour intact. After boiling, the veggies generally lose their original colour and they look faded.
- When the veggies are half-cooked, then drain the water well. Keep it aside for later use.
Step 2: Boil the rice
- Take 2 cups long grain basmati rice in the bowl and rinse it under running water for 4-5 times till the dirt goes off.
- Soak the rice in fresh water for 30 minutes. This trick helps to make the rice grains long after cooking.
- Take a wide and deep-bottomed saucepan with 1/2 of water.
- Place the saucepan on a high heat, add 1 tsp salt and cover the saucepan with a lid or a plate(it’s another secret to quickly boil the water). Bring it to a boil.
- Quickly, it will start to boil. Put the rice in it.
- Cook the rice up to 80-90 per cent done as shown in the pic.
- Immediately drain the starch from the rice.
- Spread the rice in 2-3 plates.
- Place them under a running fan to quickly cool down. This method will keep every grain of rice intact.
- This procedure will prevent rice from overcooking, as basmati rice is very delicate; overcooking makes rice chunks.
- When rice is completely cool down, keep it aside.
Step 3: Fry the vegetables & rice
- Take a deep-bottomed wide pan, place it on medium heat, add 2tbsp refined oil and 2 tbsp ghee or clarified butter.
- Add 1+1/2 inch cinnamon stick(broken into pieces), 5 cloves, 5 green cardamoms. Sauté for 4-5 seconds.
- Next, add veggies, nicely stir and fry for about 3-4 mins.
- Take the veggies in one side of the pan, add cashews and raisins(kishmish) to the other side of the pan.
- Fry it well without mixing with the veggies, and fry it for 2 mins.
- Now mix them with the veggies, and then add chopped green chilli.
- Mix and fry them for 2 more minutes.
- It’s time to add rice. Add the rice in 3-4 batches.
- After adding each batch, gently mix the rice with the veggies and dry fruits.
- Add sugar and salt(as required). Gently mix.
- Once the mixing is done, cover the pan and slow down the heat for 2-3 minutes.
- Then I add 1+1/2 tsp garam masala powder and 1 tbsp ghee to it. This little trick makes it more flavourful.
- Gently mix and cover the pan.
- Turn off the heat.
- Let the flavour of ghee and garam masala be infused in the fried rice.
- Bengali vegetable fried rice is ready. Today I served it with chicken kasha. You can also serve it with any veg or non-veg preparation of your choice.
Tips
- I’ve cut the veggies as per my choice, you can cut the veggies in your own way.
- I’ve boiled the veggies as boiled veggies don’t require much oil or ghee to fry it.
Based on 2 Review(s)