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Easy Rice Pilaf with veggies, nuts and kale. Use other grains of choice. Vegan gluten-free Recipe Jump to Recipe
Kale is one confusing green! Its almost like this gigantic green full of nutrients but so difficult to actually like. Use it in salads, soups smoothies, bake and make Chips , steam, cook on stove top and add to curries, pasta, rice. and you are good for the day. This cruciferous vegetable is rich in Vitamins K, A ,C, anti-oxidants, fibre, antinflammatory omega 3s and cancer preventing phytonutrients.
We started eating Kale in curries nicely cooked. But now we get local and organic huge and beautiful Kale from full circle farm. So, I keep trying some different ways to eat it at home.
To prep Kale, wash, pat dry, Cut up the thick stems, remove ribs and cut the leaves into desired sizes. Cook the ribs before the leaves and for longer and then add leaves.
I added some Kale to Daal(lentil soup) and that turned out wonderful only when cooked well. This pulao is almost a one pot meal or a great side for a holiday spread.
Garnish with cilantro, lemon juice, pomegranate seeds or crumble some potato chips and serve!
Vegan Rice Kale Pilaf - Rice Pulao/Pilaf with Kale, Cashews, Vegetables
Easy Rice Pilaf with veggies, nuts and kale. Use other grains of choice. Vegan gluten-free Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup long basmati rice rice
- 1.5 cups water
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 green chili chopped
- 3 garlic cloves chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/4 cup chopped cashews
- 1 cup chopped kale
- 1/4 cup chopped carrots
- 1/2 cup bell peppers
- 1 teaspoon Pav bhaji masala , or garam masala or Biryani masala or other spice blend of choice
- 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- pomegranate arils for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Soak rice in enough water to cover and keep aside.
- In a pressure cooker or saucepan, add oil and heat over medium.
- When the oil is hot, add cumin seeds and cook for half a minute or until they change color.
- Add in the bay leaf, green chili and garlic and cook for a minute till garlic is golden.
- Add in the onions, mix and cook for 2-3 minutes
- Add in the cashews, bell peppers, carrots, kale stems, any other veggies, and the spice blend. Mix and cook on low-medium, covered, for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add in the kale leaves, half the salt and mix well. Cover for another 2 minutes.
- Add in the drained rice, water and salt. give it a mix and cook covered. 2 whistles in the pressure cooker. (2 minutes once the pressure reaches).
- If cooking in a saucepan, cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low and cook for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Garnish with pomegranate, cilantro and lemon juice.
Notes
You can also use other cooked grains for variation. Use about 3 cups cooked grains at step 8. Mix in with the veggies, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
Nutritional values based on one serving
Nutrition
Calories: 459kcal, Carbohydrates: 70g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 698mg, Potassium: 498mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 7185IU, Vitamin C: 92.8mg, Calcium: 95mg, Iron: 2.6mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this recipe? Rate and comment below!
I don’t like kale and I’m not very keen on pomegranate, but I loved them both in this dish. My mum doesn’t really like rice, and even she said it was delicious 🙂 (I used brown basmati rice, just parboiled it while doing the rest and added it at the appropriate step). Will definitely make again!
Also, (and, um, kind of off-topic) you probably tried it already but it turns out that in my humble kale-hating opinion, kale makes excellent thoran. Like, better than regular cabbage thoran. I got the idea when my Sri Lankan friend served me kale cooked with coconut. I chop it very finely and make sure it’s well cooked, and nobody notices it’s kale, they are like “what is this amazing green thing?”
love that pulav
Thank you Poornima and Reshmi!
Thanks Cadry’s kitchen! yep.. they add a nice crunch too!
Your pulao looks so eye-catching and healthy. The pomegranate seeds give a wonderful contrast of color. Beautiful!
Yummy looking pulao…Loved the use of pom seeds there..
Love the Pulao ingredients…delicious!