Wild Rice Pulao

Wild Rice Medley

Wild rice has a signature flavour. It is nutty and pleasantly chewy when not overcooked. It is surprising to know that it is not actually a rice variety, rather the seed of a grass. It has more protein than white or brown rice and expensive too. Added to this, it takes longer to chew and hence the portion size is always smaller. They are great in salads too. More about wild rice here.

I have previously purchased wild rice in smaller quantities and was greatly impressed with its taste and texture. But when I wanted to make this for Nupur’s W of A-Z Indian Vegetables, I couldn’t find them. So I am using an organic rice medley which consists of wild rice, brown rice, sweet brown rice and heirloom red rice from Costco. I think this is the great way to start getting acquainted to both wild rice and brown rice, if you haven’t tried them yet.

Ingredients

Wild rice - 1 cup
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Fennel seeds – ½ tsp
Cinnamon – 1 inch
Bay leaf - 1
Onion – 1, medium sized
Green chillies – 2
Garlic – 2 cloves
Ginger – 4 inch piece, cut into big pieces
Mint – ¼ cup, finely chopped
Cilantro – ¼ cup, finely chopped
Oil
Salt

Method

Cook wild rice either in a sauce pan or pressure cooker. If cooking in a pan, boil 2 cups of water, add ¼ tsp of salt, rice and ginger. Reduce the heat to simmer, close the pan and cook for 30 minutes until done. After 25 minutes check for doneness, and add ½ cup of water if needed. If cooking using a pressure cooker, take 2 cups of water for 1 cup of rice and wait for 3 whistles. Allow to cool and fluff the rice with a fork. Adjust the rice-water ratio according to the hardness of your tap water. I cook white rice in 2:1 rice-water ratio due to the hardness of our water. Remove the ginger pieces from the rice.

In a skillet, heat oil, and splutter cumin and fennel seeds. Also add cinnamon and bay leaf and allow them to brown. Add onion, green chillies and garlic to the skillet and cook till onion turns translucent. Add mint and cilantro, stir well and add wild rice. Mix well, check for seasoning. This pulao pairs well with any vegetable gravy and raita or yogurt based gravy.

Wild Rice Pulao

Wild rice pulao and potatoes in yogurt sauce.

Check out how Indira serves her wild rice.

43 comments:

Lata said...

I read just the other day, the greatness of this rice. I was planning on buy this during this weekend.

And the photo looks Yummy. It's been long I participated in events, have to get back in form.

Anonymous said...

I love wild rice. I didn't know that it wasn't real rice.
It looks great!

Tee said...

great recipe and great way to start eating something healthy :) your pics are so good!

ushaprashanth said...

Hi suganya!
pulao looks delicious!that's a very good entry for the event!

Jyothi said...

Hi Suganya! I love the first photo. Its really wonderful. Its completely new for me. I didn't heard about this wild rice. But its tempting me to prepare. Very soon I will try this pulao. One doubt, where we will get this rice? Thanks for sharing.

bee said...

wild rice is wonderful, and i love it too. great to see more and more ways of preparing this.

musical said...

It looks WOW, to say the least. Nice pick, Suganya!

Richa said...

hey, those look like colored beads, looks good.

Cynthia said...

You're not just a food artist but a food guru. Look at those pics and honestly, I have never seen a cooked wild rice dish look so good.

Anonymous said...

I bought this same exact one too @ Costco. Great way of cooking the rice medley :)

Cheers,
Mythili

Laavanya said...

I love the taste and texture of wild rice. The first snap is amazing they look like precious gems... :)

archana said...

It is so beautiful.Never knew there is wild rice too. Pulao looks nice :)

Bharathy said...

I am learning many things from you...photography,humanity,...even more...and today it's "Wild rice"..
Have not heard of it!Looks like 'sigappu pacharisi'(?) we get here..

F.a.b.u.l.o.u.s shots!!...thnx to the photogenic wild rice too...:)..

sra said...

Byootifull!

Kajal said...

Mouth watering dish with wild rice.....Plz send me!!!!!

Nupur said...

That rice medley is gorgeous, and your pulao looks too pretty to eat!

Padma said...

Your picture itself tells everything about it. I tried with brown basmati rice but not with those wild combination, your recipe is tempting me to try something wild which is so wildly healthy...as always great pics
and post!

indosungod said...

Wild Rice, Brown Rice takes a little getting used to but they grow on you and the taste is superb. Pulao looks really good.

Coffee said...

Oh!!! I have not really treid this variety of rice..... and you way of making it is very simple indeed. :)

FH said...

My kids love the packaged seasoned wild rice too.Looks yummy and I know that nutty taste.YUM! Good one Suganya.Love the photo(It's a broken record here!:D)

Suma Gandlur said...

I have never cooked with wild rice before. Just want to grab some from your picture.

USHA said...

Wild rice puloa looks great and presentation...hmmm...what to say always amazing...I never know about wild rice...but i need to get information on that...Thanks.

bha said...

hey, i have a pack of it lying in my pantry and i hvae completely ignored it, but as u have posted this, i think i need to try this thing out...thanks

Neelam said...

Hi Suganya, your pics are so beautiful! Nice recipe...looks so healthy!

Sharmi said...

great recipe and lovely pics. the rice looks so beautiful. never tried though.

Anonymous said...

I think I will try this suganya. Thanks for the fab recipe!

Suganya said...

Jyothi, Try farmer's market like Sprouts, Henry's, Wild oats or Whole Foods. Look in the bulk section. You can buy as less you want.

KD said...

Great recipe...will definetley have to try it :)

and as always - great photography...made me hungry even after having a full meal ;)

Linda said...

OMG Suganya, I can't get past the first photo! You ought to put that in some sort of contest. That is a million-dollar prize-winning shot. WOW! :)

Anonymous said...

Suganya,
Just wanted to let you know, I tried your Quinoa upma and it's going to be a part of my cooking repetoire. It was lovely - thanks!

Mamatha

Seema Bhat said...

Suganya,
I love the flavor of wild rice very much. Your pulao looks yummy Suganya.

Suganya said...

Am glad you liked them Mamatha. And, Thanks for letting me know :)

Viji said...

Nice pictures and sounds interesting. viji

Sig said...

Suganya, I am tired of saying great pics to you... but oh my, the sexiest wild rice dish I've ever seen... :)

Suganya said...

Oh Dear Sig! Wild rice, Sexy? C'mon!

Unknown said...

The pictures are gorgeous and tempting :) A yummy and healthy recipe... Thanks for sharing!

Priyanka said...

Great pics and a great recipe too. Hadnt heard of wild rice before. Will give it a try.

Nupur said...

Seriously, Suganya, you should send entries to the blogging photo contest. It is called "Does my blog look good in this" (DMBLGIT). Do you know about it? You have totally winning pictures right here!

Roopa said...

lovely and delicious pulav. the rice is really chewy, i did try this rice for sometime but was able to get used to it...

WokandSpoon said...

I've only had wild rice once in a restaurant and never dared to attempt to cook it! Your dish looks lovely. I really like the closeup of all the rice grains!

Anonymous said...

i've bought this rice before, but can't remember the name. does anyone know the brand?

Anonymous said...

Can someone please tell me if it is normal for the colour of the water to be very dark black/purple when cooking the Wild Rice Medley from Costco. I washed it thoroughly beforehand and I don't remember being struck by the colour the water turned in the past when I've cooked wild rice. Nothing was added to the water either. I actually found it a little disconcerting and searched for evidence of bugs or maggots in the rice, but it didn't look like there were any. Thoughts???

Suganya said...

Anonymous, I buy the wild rice medley from Costco and had never faced this issue. Did you check the label for black rice as one of the ingredients? Because black rice bleeds purple.

Post a Comment