Pudina Rice or Mint Pulao is a very aromatic and easy recipe to make with the mint/pudina that is growing wild in your backyard. Love this one-pot meal and ever since started making it in the Instant pot, it has become even easier to enjoy it.
Me and my husband are both very passionate backyard gardeners. We started out pretty small back in NY at our first home and have been doing it year after year for almost 15 years now. We have passed on our passion to our boys as well and they are a great help to us when we are out and working.
One of the first vegetables/herbs that we started growing is Mint / Pudina. This also comes with a very interesting story. We planted one mint plant as our first plant when we started gardening.
Within 2 to 3 years the mint grew like a weed and it took up almost ¼th of our garden. It was so hard to get control the spread and we learned a very important gardening skill with it. Always plant Mint in a pot!
Mint or Pudina is very prolific and the more we harvest, the more it grows. Constant and regular harvesting is the key and that leads me to try out many recipes with mint.
How to clean Mint / Pudina to use in recipes
To make any recipe with mint, the first step is to properly clean it. Mint is a leafy vegetable and grows close to the dirt. So the leaves pick up quite a bit of dirt. I have explained in detail how to clean the mint easily in the pictorial before.
Pluck the leaves from the stem - Remove the leaves from the stem. The stem of mint is quite hardy. If you find the tip of the mint stem tender, we can use that in the recipe. (step 1)
Wash and soak the leaves in water - Wash the leaves under running water and then soak them in a bowl full of water. Scrub gently with your fingers. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. (step 2)
Remove the leaves - Start removing the leaves gently and carefully from the water without disturbing it too much (step 3). You will notice that the leaves would be floating on top and the dirt would be settled at the bottom. (step 4)
Ingredients Needed To Make Pudina Rice
- Mint / Pudina – A large bunch, leaves removed and washed (refer to the pictorial above on how to clean the mint leaves)
- Basmati Rice - works the best. We can use sona masoori rice as well. Based on what rice we use, we will have to adjust the water quantity.
- Produce - Onion and Green chilies
- Fresh coconut - I use frozen grated coconut. We can substitute with desiccated coconut if fresh one is not available.
- Ginger garlic paste - I use store-bought paste.
- Whole Spices - Cardamom, cinnamon, Bay leaf, Star Anise, Fennel Seeds
- Roasted cashews and raisins - optional but adds a lot of texture and flavor.
- Oil - I use coconut oil as it makes the Pudina Rice very aromatic. If you are not vegan, can use ghee.
- Salt
Can I make Pudina Rice in Instant Pot
I have always made this Mint rice in a traditional pressure cooker but lately have been making it as a one-pot meal in my Instant Pot. It is pretty much a similar process except we do the whole process in the IP.
Step-by-Step Process To Make Pudina Rice
Prep Work
- Soak the Basmati rice in water for about 30 minutes. We can skip this step if using sona masoori rice. (step 1)
- Make a paste of mint leaves, coconut, green chilies, and half the onion. Try to make the paste thick by using less water. (steps 2 and 3)
- Remove this paste to a bowl and keep it aside. (step 4)
- Heat the Instant Pot on saute mode and fry the cashews and raisins and remove it on a plate. (step 1)
- Add more oil and add the whole spices. (step 2)
- Saute onions. (step 3)
- fry ginger and garlic paste. (step 4)
- Add the ground mint paste and saute until it becomes aromatic and changes color to dark green. (step 5)
- Add the soaked and drained rice. (step 6)
- Add water needed. (step 7)
- Cook on pressure cook mode for 6 minutes. Quick release in 10 minutes. (step 8)
- Add the reserved cashews and raisins to the Mint rice and serve.
Expert tips and FAQs
- Use fresh mint to make this recipe.
- Basmati rice works the best but if it is not available, use sona masoori. Do not use sticky rice as it will ruin the texture.
Preserving Mint to use later
- If you grow mint at home and want to save them for winter, you could do so by making a powder out of it. Wash the mint leaves and let them dry. Spread the mint leaves in a microwave-safe plate or flat container and microwave them for a couple of minutes. Spread them again with your hands and again microwave it for a couple of minutes. Do the process until the leaves are crumbly. Repeat the process with all the leaves. Powder them using a dry grinder and store them airtight in a glass container. This powder has a very long shelf life and you could use this as a dry spice in any of the preferred dishes.
- You could also make a paste of the mint leaves and pour it into ice cube trays and then store them in freezer bags once frozen. This paste could be used in Pudina Rice or any dish that requires mint in wet form.
More One Pot Meal Ideas
- Vegetable Hakka Noodles
- Kozhama Upma | Rice Flour Upma With Tamarind
- Vegetarian 15 Bean Soup in Instant Pot
- Sambhar Sadham | South Indian Sambhar Rice
- Karuveppilai Sadam | Spiced Curry Leaves Rice
- Spinach And Ricotta Lasagna With Tomato Sauce
- Paneer Pulao | Paneer Fried Rice Recipe
- Cauliflower Dum Biriyani | Gobhi Dum Biriyani
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Recipe
Instant Pot Mint Pulao | How to make Pudina Rice
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Pressure Cooker If not using Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2 cups Mint tightly packed, Washed and leaves separated
- 2 cups Basmati Rice
- 4 Green chilies
- 1 Onion thinly sliced
- ¼ cup Fresh coconut
- 1 teaspoon Ginger garlic paste
- 4 Cardamom
- 1 stick Cinnamon
- 2 Bay leaf
- 1 Star Anise
- 1 teaspoon Fennel seeds
- 2 tablespoon Roasted cashews and raisins
- 2 tablespoon Oil
- to taste Salt
Instructions
- Wash the rice well and soak it in water for at least 30 mins.
- Make a paste of Mint leaves, coconut, green chilies and half the onion. Try to make the paste thick by using less water.
- Heat oil in saute mode of IP and fry the cashews and raisins. Remove it on a plate.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil and add the whole spices. (fennel seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, star anise)
- Then add the remaining onion, ginger garlic paste and sauté them for until they are slightly brown.
- Now add the pureed mixture. Sauté until the paste thickens and changes dark green from bright green.
- Add the soaked rice along with salt. Mix well and cook on pressure cook mode for 6 minutes. Once the time is up, do a quick release in 10 minutes.
- Add the fried cashews and raisins and serve the Mint Pulao hot with raita.
Notes
- Use fresh mint to make this recipe.
- Basmati rice works the best but if it is not available, use sona masoori. Do not use sticky rice as it will ruin the texture.
- If you grow mint at home and want to save them for winter, you could do so by making a powder out of it. Wash the mint leaves and let them dry. Spread the mint leaves in microwave safe plate or flat container and microwave them for couple of minutes. Spread them again with your hands and again microwave it for couple of minutes. Do the process until the leaves are crumbly. Repeat the process with all the leaves. Powder them using a dry grinder and store it airtight in a glass container. This powder has a very long shelf life and you could use this as a dry spice in any of the preferred dishes.
- You could also make a paste of the mint leaves and pour it into ice cube trays and then store them in freezer bags once frozen. This paste could be used in pulao or any dish that requires mint in wet form.
Pavithra says
Hi,
Looks delicious!
What kind of mint do you use? Is it spearmint?
Thanks!
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Thanks Pavithra! I used spearmint, but you could any kind that you have. They all have the flavor of their own and tastes amazing.
Sasmita says
Pudina Pulao looks so aromatic Sandhya !
Quite easy recipe to make with the mint which I love to make and enjoy 🙂 Use of IP is a ncie choice ....
Seema Sriram says
I have a huge patch of pudina in my backyard and I will love to make this recipe. I will try this out this week for the lunch box.
NARMADHA says
I always love one pot dishes especially pulao/Biryani. Mint pulao looks so flavorful and delicious with separate grains. Perfect to enjoy with simple raita.
Lathiya says
I love such easy recipes to make in the busy days. This mint pulao is such flavorful, easy yet delicious lunch recipe.
sapana says
I love mint flavor in any diah. This mint rice or pudina pulao looks so so delicious. This is going to make such a yummy lunchbox or picnic food.Will try it as I have big bumches of pudina in my backyard.
Padma Veeranki says
Such a quick n easy pudina rice full of refreshing flavours! I love such one pot meals and making them in instant pot is such a breeze!!
amrita says
Mint pulao looks so perfect meal and hardly needs any accompaniment...Good to know about your backyard garden where you grow these refreshing mints...
Vandana says
Such a nice simple recipe. It sounds so delicious and flavorful. I have a lot of mint leaves in my fridge and was looking for ideas to finish them. Came across this recipe at the right time, will make pudina pulao tomorrow 🙂
ARCHANA says
Yum pudina pulao. Just the way I love it with a lot of pudina. Sounds and looks so very delicious.
Uma Srinivas says
Such a easy and delicious mint rice! I have a pot full of mint leaves I usually make mint chutney. But next time i will try your recipe. Lovely post sandhya!
Lata Lala says
Now I know what to do with my lots of homegrown mint. The mint flavoured pulav looks super delicious and sounds so fragrant and it's a best way to use it.
Lovely recipe Sandhya.
Malini says
The Pudina Pulao looks delicious. One of my favorite recipes, it's flavourful rice. My mom also planted some pudina leaves. She always uses the fresh one, Unfortunately, I couldn't get a chance to plant one at my place. I totally agree with you, the quality of the fresh one is so much better than buying outside.
Pavani says
Such a flavorful and delicious pudina pulao Sandhya. I love making rice dishes in the IP - they always turn out perfect. Will try this pulao sometime soon.
Mayuri Patel says
Mint pulao must be so aromatic and tasty. Have to try it as I've not tried mint pulao. As for growing mint..feel a bit jealous that you have it growing in abundance in your garden. I can't even plant it in a pot here as the water we get is very salty.
The Girl Next Door says
We grow mint at home too and nothing can compare to the fragrance and flavour that the freshly harvested leaves offer. I love how you use home-grown produce in your cooking - isn't it so very satisfying? The mint pulav looks absolutely brilliant and very inviting!
Bless my food by Payal says
Me too recently made this recipe and it was super fantastic. The aroma of mint in rice was mind blowing. Looking superb and a must try recipe
My Cooking Journey says
Thanks Suji. I really appreciate all your feed backs. Do keep them coming 🙂
Suji says
Sandhya - Your blog shows your passion in cooking. I'll try out your recipes someday and let you know. Great job!