This East Indian wedding rice is a rich and aromatic rice pulao with a luxurious amount of nuts and raisins cooked in ghee. The dish has been served for weddings and festive occasions over the generations. This simple and easy recipe takes about 30 minutes to cook.
If you've attended an East Indian wedding, then you've probably eaten this wedding rice. It's always served alongside fugias and varias. You can add less or more fruit and nuts as well as use more ghee to make it richer. The flavor of ghee permeating from this dish is wonderful.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Rice - You can use basmati but this dish works best with kolam or other long-grain rice varieties. Make sure to adjust the water quantity to the type of rice used.
- Nuts - Cashewnuts are used because they are more affordable in India compared to almonds but you can use almonds and other nuts. Having said that, I would not recommend walnuts, macadamia, or hazelnuts as they have a strong flavor.
- Fruits - Traditionally, raisins are used but we love dried cranberries as well as chopped apricots and figs in this rice. The cranberries being tart add a nice zing to the rice.
- Peas - While not traditional, my kids love the addition of green peas in this rice.
- Onions - Also, a fun addition is fried onions which add a nice crispiness as well as sweetness to the rice.
Water to rice ratio
Below I have given water for the basmati rice but if you use other variety please make the necessary adjustments.
Basmati rice – 1 cup rice to 1 ½ cup water – 20 mins
Texmati rice – 1 cup rice to 2 cups water – 20 mins
Long-grain-rice – 1 cup rice to 1 ½ cup water – 20 mins
Short grain rice – 1 cup rice to 1 ½ cup water- 15 mins
Jasmine rice – 1 cup rice to 1 ¾ cup water – 15 mins
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Equipment /Tools
- Saute Pan
- Wooden spatula
- Cutting Board
Ingredients
- 2 cups (400 g) Rice colam, Basmati or long grain rice
- 4 tbsp Ghee or butter
- 2 tbsp Oil cooking
- ½ cup (65 g) Cashew nuts
- ½ cup (75 g) Raisins plums
- 2 cup Onion sliced thinly
- 3 ½ cups (825 ml) Water
- ¼ cup Cilantro garnish, optional
- 2 inch Cinnamon stick dalchini
- 3 Cloves lavang
- 2 Bay leaves optional
- 2 Hard-boiled eggs for garnish
Instructions
- Clean, rinse and soak rice in water for 30 mins. Then, drain and set aside.
- In a saute pan heat oil and ghee. Saute the whole spices for a minute. Then, add the nuts and fruits – saute for two minutes until lightly toastedPro tip - Nuts and fruits can burn easily so toast them very lightly. We want just a slight color.
- Then add in the onions – saute until the onions are golden brown. Remove some onions, fruit, and nuts for garnish.Pro tip - cook the onions on low so they caramelize and add a nice sweetness to it.
- Add the rice to the pan and saute for about 2 to 3 minutes until the rice is lightly toasted.
- Add the water or stock and let come to a boil. Cover the pan and lower the heat to a low simmer. Cook on a low simmer for 20 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave covered for another 10 minutes. Pro tip - set the timer for 20 minutes so you do not overcook the rice. When done do not open the door. No Peeking!
- After 10 minutes fluff the rice with a fork. Serve garnished with brown onions, toasted fruit, nuts, and sliced boiled eggs
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Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
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