Green Moong and Mixed Veggie Pulao

I love cooking one pot meals the reason being very obvious – healthy and quick. So here is yet another healthy and nutritious one pot meal that gets ready in minutes – Moong Dal and Mixed Veggie Pulao.

A well balanced vegetarian meal should always have a rice, dal and veggies combo, (Carbohydrates, Proteins and Vitamins) which is fulfilled by this dish. All this sounds very good, but how many of our kids have rice and dal when given as such? At least my daughter can’t even stand the sight of the regular yellow dal. Now with this recipe at hand, I know how to sneak in my dal and veggies. This pulao was a super hit with both my daughter and H. It is a perfect healthy lunch box recipe and is a keeper for me. Now to the recipe:

Serves: 3 to 4

What you’ll need:

1. Basmathi Rice - 1 ½ cups
2. Whole Green Moong – ¾ cup
3. Carrot – 1 medium
4. Potato – 1 medium
5. Fresh or Frozen Green Peas – a handful
6. Onion – 2 Medium
7. Tomatoes – 2 to 3 Medium

For Grinding

1. Ginger – a small piece
2. Garlic – 3 to 4
3. Green chilles – 2 to 3
4. Scraped Fresh coconut – 1 tblsp
5. Fresh Coriander Leaves – a small bunch

For Seasoning

1. Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
2. Bay Leaf – 1
3. Cloves – 2
4. Elaichi – 2
5. Cinnamon – a small piece
6. Cashewnuts - a few
7. Oil and ghee – 1 tbsp

Method

Soak the whole moong for 3 to 4 hours. Grind the items mentioned under to grind to a fine paste without adding water. Wash, peel and chop the veggies into cubes. Wash and drain basmathi rice.

Heat a pressure cooker with the oil and ghee. Add the items mentioned under (for seasoning). Fry for a minute. Now add the sliced onions and fry till onions turn light brown. Next add the chopped tomatoes and fry till they are soft. Next add the veggies one after the other and sauté for another minute. Now add the ground paste and fry for about 2 minutes on medium heat. Next add the soaked moong and the rice. Saute for about 2 minutes or till all the moisture is evaporated. In the meanwhile, boil about 2 ¼ cups of water. Add the boiling water to the rice and veggies as soon as the moisture is evaporated. Now add salt to taste Stir well and cook covered for about 2 whistles.

Healthy and tasty Moong dal pulao is ready. Serve with a raita of your choice.

Notes

1. Though I did not have the time to sprout my moong, feel free to use the sprouted one too.
2. You can use other vegetables like, French beans, cauliflower or capsicum.

Some Useful Tips

1. Always soak any kind of legume for at least 20 to 30 minutes in warm water to get complete benefit out of it.
2. Always drain the water in which the legumes are soaked, wash it again and use fresh water for cooking. It is said that legumes leave out some toxins upon soaking.

Sending this to Smita’s Healthy Cooking Challenge hosted Anamika and to Susan’s MLAA 38 hosted by Preeti