Zarda Pulao Recipe, Kesar Bhaat, Meethe ChawaI in Pressure Cooker

Zarda Pulao- sweet and rich rice preparation loaded with dry fruits,sugar and ghee

Zarda pulao / meethe chawal , kesar bhaat or sweet rice is a popular dish of South Asia. It’s equally popular in India and Pakistan and is mainly made on celebration and festivals like weddings ,Diwali ,Raksha bandhan etc. In Muslim religion it’s a must have sweet dish during Eid celebrations.

The name Zarda comes from the urdu and Persion word – Zard ,which means yellow in colour and as a good quantity of saffron or yellow food colour is added in this dessert which will give it the bright yellow colour so its name as Zarda. . Zarda pulao is also popular as meethe chawal in Punjab, kangra valley and many states of India.

As zarda pulao / kesar bhaat is made during celebrations so a good quantity of dry fruits and ghee is added into it to make it rich and delicious. Traditionally first the rice is cooked till al dante then sugar and nuts are added into it and simmered till done but this process needs time and skill.

So I am posting a quite easy and quick recipe to make zarda pulao in a pressure cooker.do try it once and you will surely like it.

You can also try these rice preparation on celebrations –

• Vegetable Biryani Pulao,
•  Nizami sesame pulao ,
• Puliyodarai
• Chili pineapple pulao
• Capsicum Rice

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4.64 from 11 votes

Meethe Chawal , Zarda Pulao, Kesar Bhaat

Zarda Pulao- A sweet and rich rice preparation loaded with dry fruits,sugar and ghee

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time20 mins

Course: Desserts/Sweets/Mithai

Cuisine: Mughlai Cuisine, Punjabi Cuisine

Keyword: kesar bhaat, meethe chawal, zarda pulao

Servings: 5 people

Author: Anjana Chaturvedi

Ingredients

• 1 cup Rice/chawal
• 1 cup Sugar / Chini
• 3 tbsp Clarified Butter / Desi Ghee *
• 4 Cloves / Lavang
• 6 Green Cardamom / Hari Elaichi
• 1/2 inch Cinnamon /daalchini
• 1/2 cup Dry fruits/mewa
• 1/4 tsp Saffron / Kesar
• pinch of Saffron food colour
• 2 Silvar leaf /varak
• 1.5 tbsp Rose Water / Gulab Jal Optional
• 1/2 cup Whole Milk / Doodh
• 1.5 cup Water / Paani

Instructions

• Wash and soak rice for 20 minutes in enough water.
• Soak saffron in luke warm milk and keep aside
• After 20 minutes drain the water from the soaked rice.
• Heat ghee in a pressure cooker.
• Add cloves,cardamom,cinnamon and the chopped dry fruits and stir for few seconds or till cloves start to crackle.
• Now add rice and stir fry for a minute.
• Now add water,sugar and milk in the cooker and mix well
• When the mixture start boiling add thee rose water and close the cooker lid.
• Pressure cook on medium heat for 1 whistle
• let it cool down completely for 10 minutes
• Now open the cooker and gently mix and fluff with a fork.
• Drizzle a spoon of ghee on it (optional)
• Garnish with silver leaf and few chopped pistachio and serve hot

Notes

Note-

1. You can add a mix of dry fruit of your choice,I have used cashew, almonds, raisins,pistachio and chiroli,can adjust the quantity as per your preference.
2. you can add 3/4 cup sugar if you prefer mild sweetness.
3. Always use good quality rice to make zarda pulao