Parsi Mewa no Pulav: The Most Delicious Vegetarian Pilaf I Have Ever Had!
[This recipe is now on Foodbuzz “Top 9” list. Friends, thank you all for buzzing it up to this rank. Thanks for stopping by and motivating me!]
About 1,300 years ago, the Zoroastrians from Iran settled in Gujarat, India. The descendants of this community are known as the Parsis. Parsi food is truly a unique balance of Persian and Gujarati cuisine! I love Parsi cuisine because of two things: they are lavish in using dry fruits and the dishes are just mildly spicy.
Soon after my marriage, we settled in Mumbai in 2004. This was the time when I tasted many Parsi dishes, such as patra-ni-macchi (fish wrapped in banana leaf) and dhansaak (a curry of lentils, vegetables and mutton). Amused by the extraordinary taste of Parsi cuisine, I started to learn a few dishes from an elderly Parsi lady, who used to pan out absolutely fabulous Parsi fare every time we used to visit her. When we were leaving for Hong Kong, she lovingly passed me an old notebook with some authentic Parsi recipes. This recipe is taken from her notebook and AN strongly believes that this is the best vegetarian pulav I have ever made!
Dry fruits, mace and saffron are an integral part of this pilaf. Speaking about dry fruits, let me tell you that red barberries (the most important dry fruit in mewa no pulav) are often difficult to get. The taste of these berries is sweet and sour. I could not find barberries in Hong Kong, so I substituted them with dried cranberry raisins, which led to an extremely satisfactory taste as well! Apart from barberries, I could get the other dry fruits very easily: dried figs, pine nuts, cashewnuts, golden raisins and dried apricots.
Personally, I’d like to do away with the pumpkin seeds next time. Also, make sure that you use the best-quality and the freshest yogurt for this pulav because issues such as sour yogurt can ruin all your effort towards cooking up this culinary masterpiece!
Parsi mewa no pulav
[Mewa means dry fruits and pulav is an Indian aromatic rice preparation. This recipe serves 6 people.]
Ingredients (for rice):
- Basmati rice: 4 cups
- Purple onions (thinly sliced): 2
- Mace flowers: ½
- Carraway seeds (shahi jeera): 1 tsp
- Saffron strands: ¼ tsp
- Salt: 1 tsp
- Ghee (Indian clarified butter): 1 tsp
- Light oil: for frying
Ingredients (for mewa and vegetables):
- Dried cranberry raisins: ½ cup
- Dried apricots: ½ cup
- Dried figs: ½ cup
- Dried golden raisins: ¼ cup
- Whole cashewnuts (fried): 12
- Pine nuts: ¼ cup
- Pumpkin seeds (optional): 10
- Purple onion (chopped): 1.5 cups
- Potatoes (de-skinned, cubed and fried with a little salt): 1 cup
- Boiled green peas: ½ cup
- Carrots (cubed and boiled with a little salt): ½ cup
- French beans (cut and boiled with a little salt): ½ cup
- Tomato (chopped): 1.5 cups
- Coriander leaves: 1 tbsp
- Mint leaves: 1 tsp
- Fresh yogurt: ½ cup
- Sugar: 3 tsp
- Salt: According to taste
- Ghee
Method:
In this pulav, we will make two kinds of rice, one white and the other orange, and assemble them towards the end.
Deep fry the thinly sliced purple onions in a mixture of 1 tsp ghee and light oil and keep aside.
Making the white rice:
To make the white rice, add the soaked rice into the rice cooker with a little extra water (just a little more than that required to immerse the contents). Add half each of the following: fried onions, caraway seeds, mace and salt. When it is done, spread in a big plate.
Making the orange-coloured rice:
Now make the orange-coloured rice. Add half of the remaining basmati rice, along with saffron and the remaining ingredients listed for making the rice. Spread this in a big plate as well.
Treating the dry fruits:
Fry all the dry fruits in a little ghee and boil them in sugar-water mixture (1 tsp sugar in 2 cup water).
Treating the vegetables:
Heat ghee in a pan and add the chopped onions. Fry till these just become a little softer. Add the fried potatoes and the boiled vegetables and cook for 3-4 min on a medium flame. Add the coriander leaves and mint and mix well.
Making the sweet yogurt mixture:
Mix the yogurt, 2 tsp sugar and chopped tomatoes. Add this yogurt mixture to the vegetables and mix lightly.
Assembling the pulav:
Take a handful of white rice and orange-coloured rice each and mix them lightly with a handful of vegetable-yogurt-tomato mixture. Repeat the process till all the contents are mixed. Transfer half of this pulav into a microwave-safe glass container. Sprinkle the treated dry fruits all over the rice. Add the rest of the pulav on this. Finally, sprinkle the rest of the dry fruits lavishly on top of the pulav.
Seal this with a cling film and microwave (low power) for 5 min. Serve hot.
Sean of Food on the Table passed me a beautiful “Everyday Foodie” award, displayed at the right hand side of Cosmopolitan Currymania, under the section “Awards”. Thank you, Sean, for this wonderful award!
January 10, 2012 @ 9:13 am
What a lovely gesture by the Parsi lady! The pulav certainly looks super delicious and healthy. thanks for sharing
January 10, 2012 @ 12:09 pm
ivitig pulav
January 10, 2012 @ 1:25 pm
Oh my this is stunning!! And healthy!! I wish I could come over and share a bowl!
January 10, 2012 @ 2:52 pm
It doesn’t sound unusual to me. It sounds fantastic!
January 10, 2012 @ 3:22 pm
I agree, Purabi. This does seem like a delicious one. I have never had something like this.
January 10, 2012 @ 4:02 pm
Simply delicious looking veg pilaf. Pictures are stunning.
Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi
January 10, 2012 @ 4:17 pm
I love this..Thanks for the recipe..This looks mouthwatering
Aarthi
http://yummytummy-aarthi.blogspot.com/
January 10, 2012 @ 4:20 pm
seriously drooling here….cant wait to try this one dear…bookmarked!!
January 10, 2012 @ 5:03 pm
This looks amazing! i have never had anything like this before and love that it is healthy too! I might have to try this out! Have a wonderful week!
January 10, 2012 @ 5:25 pm
Delicious looking rice…Will be trying it soon…
January 10, 2012 @ 6:22 pm
Really interesting recipe. Love the dried fruit in it – a really great idea. I’ve never had anything quite like this before. Thanks for expanding my horizons!
January 10, 2012 @ 7:20 pm
i had some vegan pulav the other day from whole foods and it was delicious! i am sure the yogurt added to it, is just delightful!!
January 10, 2012 @ 8:07 pm
Beautiful dish! Are there any substitutes for mace flowers? Can I use ground mace instead? Thanks!
January 10, 2012 @ 9:22 pm
This looks absolutely delicious! I love all the dried fruits and nuts in here. I will have to try this!
January 10, 2012 @ 10:25 pm
Purabi, this is an amazing blend — the ultimate pilaf!! I recently tried your method of sauteeing raisins in ghee and loved the way it caramelized the sugar in them. Can only imagine how delicious that effect is on the apricots & dried cranberries (figs, too.) Congratulations on your latest award!
January 10, 2012 @ 10:53 pm
It doesn’t only look beautiful, it also sound beautiful. A recipe given by an old lady is a treasure!
January 11, 2012 @ 3:26 am
This sounds absolutely delicious and so beautiful with incredible flavors. I hope to try this in the near future. I’m printing this off and saving. Thank you for sharing.
Happy New Year!
January 11, 2012 @ 6:06 am
Honestly, I’ve not tried any veg pilaf. But your spread is fascinating & makes me drool. Nice work, Purabi!
January 11, 2012 @ 8:02 am
Hi Purabi – I don’t eat that much pilaf… I guess I was never truly sure what is required to make it and so I just never gave it a try. It looks amazing though – so colourful and fragrant. I think I’ll be giving it a go soon! Thanks for sharing the recipe 🙂
January 11, 2012 @ 2:33 pm
Tessa, what you are referring to is probably nutmeg, whose flavour is quite different. Mace flowers have an unique flavour. Try finding an Indian/Pakistani store at your place or order it online. This is sold by the name of “javitri” in India. I don’t recommend substituting anything in place of dried mace flowers.
Charles, Indian cuisine is a rich treasure! So many pulavs to explore!! Try this one if you trust my recipes. I bet you’ll not be dissapointed! Thanks for the nice words!!
Vicki, really?! Oh, that really means a lot to me!! Thanks for your kind words!
Kimby, yes, frying raisins makes them puffed up and gives the dish a great look as well!! Thanks for your motivation, dear.
January 11, 2012 @ 8:05 pm
This looks so full of flavor and delicious! Love the whole spread you set up!
January 11, 2012 @ 8:29 pm
Delicious Pilaf, yes your are correct dry fruits adds more flavors.
January 11, 2012 @ 11:55 pm
Wow… just wow! this looks incredible!
January 12, 2012 @ 1:06 am
I have always loved pilafs since way back and I love the idea of using fruits, so this recipe really appeals to me. I have mace in my spice rack but no no mace flowers.
Going to try this soon, I know it will be fabulous.
Oh yeah, congrats on your award as well.
January 12, 2012 @ 1:35 am
Who needs meat if you have all these goodies mixed in the rice. Looks delicious, Purabi! Have a wonderful rest of the week!
January 12, 2012 @ 3:41 am
WOW! This does look and sound like an absolutely delicious pilaf! It’s got it all – nuts, fruit, vegetables, spice – can’t get much healthier and tastier than this! Fabulous recipe!
January 12, 2012 @ 3:48 am
This is beyond gorgeous. I’m a little intimidated by all the steps and ingredients, but I’m adding this to my “Make and Learn” list.
January 12, 2012 @ 4:35 am
Purabi – this sounds delicious! I love the fruits in this one. You answered my question regarding Mace – I would have just substituted nutmeg, so I’m glad you already answered! YUM!
January 12, 2012 @ 4:59 am
This looks like the most delicious vegetarian pilaf ever! Great post!
January 12, 2012 @ 5:37 am
Wow Purabi, this is simply awesome!The Pulav looks lip-smacking, authentic and absolutely gorgeous.I can almost smell the myriad flavors but I just wish I could have a spoonful of that delicacy:)Congrats on making it to the Top 9 – lovely recipe!
January 12, 2012 @ 7:27 am
A recipe given by an old lady is a treasure
January 12, 2012 @ 8:21 am
Thanks a lot for your lovely comment.
Pulav looks delicious, flavourful, yummy and tempting. Wonderful presentation. Feel like having it now.
January 12, 2012 @ 10:03 am
What an amazing dish and fascinating reading about parsi. I adore dried fruits and used to putting them in Moroccan tagines in France but this looks incredible. Would love to try it, especially as it’s not too spicy and we’ve plenty of dried cranberries left over after the festive season. Congratulations on Top9 – this is stunning!
January 12, 2012 @ 11:06 am
This looks absolutely amazing – I am very intrigued by the use of dried fruit in this, and I always love purple onions. Definitely goes on my to do list~ Congratulations on a well deserved Top 9!
January 12, 2012 @ 12:23 pm
This food looks so delicious.. i wanna taste them. I will also try to do the recipe that is if they are available.. 🙂
January 12, 2012 @ 12:41 pm
This truly does show that rice dishes do not have to be plain, in fact they can become the centerpiece as well as the showstopper of the meal. There are some real treasures in vintage recipes and I am glad you were given this one to share with us. Delicious post!
January 12, 2012 @ 1:39 pm
Thank you, everyone! Without you all, I would have never made it upto Top 9 rank on Foodbuzz! Thanks for all your well wishes and BUZZ!
This is my first ever recipe on Foodbuzz Top 9 and yes, I am so excited today!
January 12, 2012 @ 2:10 pm
Congrats on Foodbuzz Top 9 today! Thanks for sharing your heirloom recipe with us. Fantastic pilaf with nuts, veggies and special spices….
January 12, 2012 @ 10:26 pm
Wow, this rice dish really sounds and looks delicious…I love all the dry fruits in it…almost like a dessert.
Hope you are having a wonderful week and thanks for this delicious recipe Purabi 🙂
January 12, 2012 @ 11:12 pm
parsi recipes are always a hidden Gem would like explore more on it Thanks for Blogging on same
January 13, 2012 @ 1:13 am
flavourful looking rice looks wonderful
January 13, 2012 @ 7:55 pm
Tats a rich rich pulav….
January 14, 2012 @ 12:12 am
The pulav looks so flavorful filled with so many things. I have no idea if i ate parsi food or not but the way you explain tells me I definitely should try this cuisine.
January 15, 2012 @ 6:22 am
I always envy your international background in cooking. You cook Indian, Parsi, Asian cooking…. It’s wonderful that you had a chance to eat authentic food and you have skills to recreate what you ate. I wish I had that kind of special experiences in the past. It must be cool! Congrats on Top9 and no wonder – this looks so delicious!
January 15, 2012 @ 7:22 pm
What a fantastic recipe…this is amazingly delicious Purabi! Congratulations on Top 9 🙂
January 16, 2012 @ 5:50 pm
This is amazing!
January 17, 2012 @ 10:08 pm
What a bounty of beautiful vegetarian ingredients!
January 20, 2012 @ 3:34 am
You are incredibly talented..your pilaf look fantastic and very delicious! Thank you for sharing and have a fabulous day dear!
January 24, 2012 @ 5:14 pm
This looks delicious, I love how you have incorporated dried fruit into the recipe, the perfect balance of sweet and savory!
January 24, 2012 @ 8:51 pm
It’s amazing the people we meet that teach us so much! This pulav looks amazing =)
January 31, 2012 @ 2:22 pm
This pilaf is absolutely wonderful.
February 2, 2012 @ 9:18 pm
Oh my gosh, this looks amazing and flavorful. COngrats on the top 9!