Mushroom pulao is an Indian mushroom rice recipe that makes for a tasty one-pot brunch or dinner. A simple vegan and gluten-free rice pilaf that comes together in 25 minutes in the instant pot.
Love mushrooms? Try this mushroom soup made in the instant pot.
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About Mushroom Pulao
I love the earthy flavor of mushrooms, and when you cook them with rice to make a moist and fragrant pulao? Mmm...
So, mushrooms and me are now BFFs after a long period of mutual indifference which you can read about in this mushroom masala post. I won't dwell on it here, suffice it to say that we're happy and comfortable to be in each other's company in the present.
Anyhow, to get back to this mushroom pulao recipe, just one thing to clarify before we get to the ingredients for making it. This is not a mushroom biryani, folks. These days, most people use the terms interchangeably, but there's a lot of difference between a pulao and a biryani. I go over the differences in more detail in my chicken pulao post. Do check it out if you're curious to know what they are. You'll be surprised!
Speaking of chicken, here's a chicken curry with mushrooms. If you are not averse to chicken, you will love this recipe!
Ingredients
- Basmati rice - 1 cup, rinsed and drained
- White button mushrooms, sliced - 1 cup
- Cooking oil - 3 tbsp
- Onions, sliced - ½ cup
- Garlic, chopped - 1 tsp
- Vegetable broth - 1 ¼ cup
- Red chilli flakes- ½ tsp
- Garam masala- ¼ tsp
- Cilantro - 1 or 2 sprigs (optional)
- Sea salt, to taste
Instructions
1. Switch on your instant pot to saute and wait for the display panel to show HOT. Add the oil, followed by the sliced onions. Saute the onions until they are reddish-brown.
2. Add the garlic and rice and fry in the oil and onions for 1 minute.
3. Add the vegetable broth, chilli flakes, garam masala, salt and mushrooms. Mix everything well and set to pressure cook for 4 minutes with pressure release at 5 minutes.
4. Open the pot, fluff the rice with a fork and serve hot with a salad of your choice.
Optional: Top with some crispy, fried onions and cilantro for a more attractive and rich look.
Top Tips
1. The color of the pulao depends a lot on the extent to which you caramelize the onions. If you want a light colored pulao, add the garlic and rice as soon as the onions start to change color. Do not wait for them to turn brown. If, however, you like a rich brown pulao, fry the onions until they are reddish-brown. Be careful, however, not to burn the onions or you will end up with slightly bitter tasting rice. Here's a useful post on Indian cooking techniques that goes into how to caramelize onions perfectly.
2. Do stick to the rice and liquid ratio for perfectly separated and fluffy grains of rice. 1 cup of uncooked rice requires 1 ¼ cups water or broth. If you increase the rice, increase the liquid accordingly.
3. Don't forget to fry the rice in the oil for a minute before adding the broth. When rice is fried briefly before cooking, it imparts a nutty, rich aroma to the final dish.
4. I used white button mushrooms in this recipe because they are so easily available, but you can use any other variety or even two or three varieties in this pulao.
5. Adjust the amount of chilli flakes depending on how hot or mild you want the pulao to be.
6. If the broth you are using has salt in it (which it usually does unless you specifically look for salt-free broth), reduce the amount of salt you add to the recipe.
Why this mushroom pulao recipe works
1. Uses a few, commonly available ingredients.
2. Easy and quick to make in the instant pot.
3. One-pot recipe makes cleaning up simple.
4. Mushrooms + Rice = Delicious!
More Instant Pot Vegan Recipes
📖 Recipe
Mushroom Pulao
Equipment
- 6-quart Instant Pot Duo
Ingredients
- 1 cup Basmati rice rinsed and drained
- 1 cup sliced white button mushrooms
- 3 tablespoon cooking oil
- ½ cup sliced onions sliced
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 1 ¼ cup vegetable broth
- ½ teaspoon red chilli flakes
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon salt to taste
Instructions
- Switch on your instant pot to saute and wait for the display panel to show HOT. Add the oil, followed by the sliced onions. Saute the onions until they are reddish-brown.
- Add the garlic and rice and fry in the oil and onions for 1 minute.
- Add the vegetable broth, chilli flakes, garam masala, salt and mushrooms. Mix everything well, cancel saute and close the lid. Press the pressure cook button (high) and set the timer for 4 minutes. Make sure the steam release handle is on sealing.
- When the timer beeps, wait for 5 minutes, then release pressure by turning the steam release handle to venting. Open the pot, fluff the rice with a fork and serve hot with a salad of your choice.
Notes
- The onions should be fried a reddish-brown for a good looking pulao. Be careful not to over-brown them as the rice will turn slightly bitter if the onions are burnt. You can fry them pinkish brown, of course, for a light colored pulao.
- Stick to the rice and liquid ratio for perfectly separated and fluffy grains of rice. 1 cup of uncooked rice requires 1 ¼ cups water or broth for the instant pot. If you increase the rice, here's the measurement: For every additional cup of rice, increase the liquid by 1 cup but keep the ¼ cup constant. So for 2 cups of rice, you would add 2 ¼ cups liquid.
- Don't forget to fry the rice in the oil for a minute before adding the broth. When rice is fried briefly before cooking, it imparts a nutty, rich aroma to the final dish.
- I used white button mushrooms in this recipe because they are so easily available, but you can use any other variety or even two or three varieties in this pulao.
- Adjust the amount of chilli flakes depending on how hot or mild you want the pulao to be.
- If the broth you are using has salt in it (which it usually does unless you specifically look for salt-free broth), reduce the amount of salt you add to the recipe.
Nutrition
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