Coconut Milk Pulao

I share the traditional Andhra style coconut milk pulao recipe in this post along with instructions to make it in a pot, pressure cooker and instant pot. In South India, locally grown aged regular rice is used to make this dish. However feel free to use any kind of rice that you have. Keeping the rice grains separate, grainy yet fully cooked is very important. So use only aged rice as this kind of rice cooks up perfectly to fluffy grains without turning sticky and mushy.

Ingredients

You will need some basic whole spices like bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms, mace and shahi jeera (or cumin seeds). I love the addition of crushed fennel seeds and black pepper as they elevate the flavors of the coconut milk pulao. Mixed veggies like carrots, peas, beans and potatoes are used. To save some prep time you can also use frozen mix veggies like sweet corn, carrots, peas and beans. This can also be made with a single veggie of choice instead of mixed vegetables. As with any other pulao, this one is also flavored with fresh mint leaves. If you want you may add coriander leaves too. My Mom would always add some cashews to this pulao and sometimes even soya chunks. A lot of times she also skipped all the veggies and used only cashews to make cashew pulao. However you may leave out both nuts and soya chunks. I use fresh homemade coconut milk, a mix of thick and thin milk which I detailed below in the stepwise instructions. If using canned coconut milk, dilute it with water as mentioned in the recipe notes below. This coconut milk pulao can be eaten as such or with a bowl of yogurt but it is usually eaten with a curry like Vegetable Kurma, Potato Kurma, Egg Curry, Shorba or Chicken Curry. If you don’t intend to make an elaborate meal, simply make some raita. This Onion raita and Cucumber raita go well.

How to Make Coconut Milk Pulao (Stepwise Photos)

Preparation

  1. Add 1 cup rice to a bowl and rinse it well at least thrice.
  2. Drain the water and soak it for 15 mins. Do not over soak the rice. After 15 mins, drain the rice to a colander.
  3. Meanwhile rinse all the veggies required and prepare them

1 small onion sliced1 green chilli slit or chopped (skip for kids)1 medium carrot (¼ cup diced)1 medium potato (¼ cup diced)6 to 7 green beans (¼ cup chopped)¼ cup green peas (fresh or frozen)1 to 1 ½ teaspoon ginger garlic paste¼ cup mint leaves chopped finely (handful pudina leaves)If you want to use cashews, split open 10 whole nuts and set aside.

  1. Bring out all the spices required.

1 bay leaf3 green cardamoms4 cloves1 inch cinnamon1 star anise¾ teaspoon shahi jeera (substitute with cumin seeds)1 strand mace1 black cardamom½ teaspoon crushed fennel seeds (optional)¼ teaspoon crushed black pepper

  1. If you want to make fresh coconut milk, add 125 to 150 grams (1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups grated coconut) to a grinder, pour 1 cup water and grind. Strain this, press down with a spoon. Add back the coconut to the grinder and pour another ½ cup water. Grind and repeat the straining. Measure this and pour more plain water to make it 2 cups coconut milk for pot method. If using IP you will only need 1 ¼ cup and for the Indian Stovetop Cooker with whistle, you will need only 1¾ cup. (I don’t use a cloth to strain.)

Make Coconut Milk Pulao

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons ghee in a pot or pressure cooker. When the ghee turns hot, add all the whole spices and let them sizzle.
  2. Add onions and fry them until light golden.
  3. Stir in cashews.
  4. Add ginger garlic and green chilli.
  5. Fry until aromatic, add fennel powder and black pepper.
  6. Add all the veggies and mint leaves. Stir and fry for 2 to 3 mins.
  7. Pour the coconut milk and add ½ teaspoon salt. Stir and taste test for salt. The coconut milk should taste slightly salt. Note: You will use canned coconut milk and water in 1:1 ratio. If using homemade coconut milk, you will use a mix of first and second extract (thick and thin). 2 cups liquid for pot, 1¾ cups for pressure cooker & 1¼ cups for IP.
  8. Bring the coconut milk to a rolling boil on a high heat. Add the drained rice and stir well.
  9. Cover and cook on a medium to low heat until all of the coconut milk is absorbed and the rice is cooked to fluffy. In between you may stir once. Avoid stirring often because you don’t want to break the rice. If cooking in a pressure cooker, cook on a medium heat until you hear 1 whistle. When the pressure drops open the lid. If using an instant pot, set the timer to 5 mins. Let the pressure release for 3 to 4 mins. Quick release the rest. Gently fluff up the rice. If the top layer is undercooked, remove the steel insert, fluff up and cover with a plate for 10 mins.
  10. Fluff up the coconut milk pulao with a fork. Cover and rest for 10 mins. Serve coconut milk pulao with a curry or raita. Related Recipes

Recipe Card

Coconut Milk Pulao first published in March 2013. Updated & Republished in July 2022.

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