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Wednesday, April 17, 2019

O for Oodhala Pulao / Oodhalina Pulao (Barnyard Millet Vegetable Pulao)

There are a plethora of pulao options available now for vegetarians, thanks to creative minds. However until a few decades ago, the most common and popular versions were vegetable pulao and peas pulao, at least down south. Here is a millet pulao, a tad bit healthier take over the traditional version of vegetable pulao. Millets have been grown and consumed in India for ages and these gluten free grains are a healthier option over rice and wheat, the two staple grains of the Indian sub continent. Millets can easily be substituted for rice in everyday cooking.

I had to think a bit for my 'O' recipe. Oralu chitranna and oliya were already done and to be honest, I could not think beyond onion, okra, oats and orzo when planning for 'O' recipes. Onion pulao would have been redundant after my ghee rice post yesterday and I like my okra to be crunchy and crispy. I am not a fan of 'oats replacing rice' kind of dishes and so all my options were out of the window. Then the thought of using barnyard millet which is called oodhalu both in Telugu and Kannada occurred and here is that oodhala pulao. I made a garlic free pulao but feel free to add 1/2 tsp. garlic paste along with ginger.

I have given the preparation of this pulao in both pressure cooker and pan. And also the method of cooking the vegetables and millets separately so that it comes handy when you have leftover cooked millet or you want your millet grains to stand apart.

Ingredients: (Yield 4 - 6 servings)
2 tbsp. ghee / oil
1 tsp. cumin seeds or caraway seeds (jeera or shahjeera)
3 cardamom pods
3 cloves
2 one inch cinnamon pieces
1 big bay leaf
1 onion, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1 inch piece ginger, finely grated or 1/2 tsp. ginger paste
1 tbsp. minced cilantro leaves
1tbsp. minced mint leaves
2 small carrots, peeled and diced
1 cup green beans (stringed and cut into 1 inch pieces)
1 cup peeled and cubed potato
1/4 cup fresh / frozen green peas
1 cup oodhalu / barnyard millet
1/8 tsp. ground turmeric
1 and 3/4 cup water
Salt as needed (I added about 2 and 1/4 tsp. salt)

Directions for method 1: (Cooking vegetables and millet together.)
1. Heat ghee / oil in a small sized pressure cook directly. Add cumin / caraway seeds, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf and saute for few seconds. Add sliced onions, cilantro, mint and keep cooking until the onions turn pink. Add ginger paste and garlic paste if using and saute for few seconds. Then add the vegetables and stir well.
2. Rinse the millet in two exchanges of water and drain. Add the millet, water, turmeric and salt. (If you don't prefer pulao to be a very dry version, add 1/4 cup more water.) 
3. Pressure cook on medium flame for 3 whistles and turn off the stove. When the valve pressure is gone, fluff and serve the pulao with plain yogurt or a raita.

Notes:
1. If using a pan instead of a pressure cooker, add 2 cups of water to millet and vegetables. Cover a lid tightly over the pan and cook on low flame until all the water evaporates and the millet is cooked through. Taste and check if the millet is cooked. If not, add a little extra water and cook until done.
2. If one doesn't prefer cooking directly in a pressure cooker, then cooking until step 2 can be done in a pan. Then transfer the contents of the pan to a container that fits into a pressure cooker, place it in a pressure cooker with water at the bottom and pressure cook as usual for 3 whistles.


Directions for method 2: (Cooking vegetables and millet separately.)
1. Rinse the millet in two exchanges of water and drain. Pressure cook millet on low flame for 3 whistles adding 1 and 3/4 cups water, salt, and turmeric. (I add only about 3/4 cup water for 1/2 cup millet.)
2. Heat ghee / oil in a pan and add cumin / caraway seeds, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf and saute for few seconds. Add sliced onions and keep cooking until onions turn pink. Add ginger paste and garlic paste if using and saute for few seconds. Then add mint, cilantro, vegetables and stir well. Turn down the heat to the lowest setting, cover and cook until the vegetables are cooked (but not mushy), stirring intermittently.
3. Add the cooked millet to the pan and stir gently to mix. Let it sit for a few minutes before serving so that the flavors can mingle.

So far in my Biryani / Pulao / Khichdi series,
A for Ambur Biryani
B for Basanti Pulao / Misthi Pulao
C for Corn - Fenugreek Greens Pulao
D for Donne Biryani
E for Ek Toap na Dal Bhaat
F for Fada ni Khichdi
G for Gutti Vankaya Biryani
H for Hyderabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani
I for Iyengar Puliyogare
J for Jaipuri Mewa Pulao
K for Kashmiri Pulao
L for Lucknowi Biryani
Comments

11 comments:

Harini R said...

That pulao with barnyard millet looks amazing. I thought of oodhalu but my local store didn't have it in stock :(

Kalyani said...

this veggie packed pulao is very inviting ! am now eating millets almost thrice a week for different meals, thanks majorly to this BM :) so, is Oodhaalu a telugu / kannada name ?

Suma Gandlur said...

Barnyard millet is pronounced the same way both in Telugu and Kannada but I am noticing that they are spelled differently, don't know why.

Sharmila Kingsly said...

The grains have cooked perfect..like this kinda pulao. I sometimes cook it mushy

But this texture is perfect..

Gayathri Kumar said...

Love this version of millet pulao. The grains stand separately and it looks fantastic Suma. Need to learn your method of cooking millet.

sushma said...

Lovely looking pulao. I am yet to try barnyard millets. The dish is tempting me to try soon.

vaishali sabnani said...

Awesome ! The idea of using a traditional name is great , I tell you we have to think out of box .
Lovely barnyard millet pulao , I can see it has been cooked very well , each grain stands out so beautifully . I should learn to cook so well , seriously !

Srivalli said...

Wow, Suma, those millets are cooked so perfectly and the dish surely stands out. An excellent adaptation of the pulao and this surely makes this healthy and interesting as well!

Srividhya said...

Such a brilliant pick for O... I really like how the pulao has come out. Very grainy and looks super perfect and inviting as well.

cookwithrenu said...

Love the way you have cooked this millet. So puffed up and seperate. Looks super delicious.

Swati said...

Thanks for sharing both the methods(cooking with veggies and separately). This looks so good, each grain is separated and the pulo looks so inviting!!