Zarda Pulao or Meethe Chawal is a popular North Indian and Pakistani sweet rice meal made with rice, saffron, milk, sugar, dry fruits & spices. This aromatic rice dessert is loved by everyone for its comforting taste and flavor. This is the perfect royal dessert to celebrate festivity such as weddings, Diwali and Eid. Indian festivals have already started and where celebration comes, so do sweets.
Meethe chawal or Zarda pulao is an aromatic rice dish cooked with ghee, cardamom, some aromatic spices, and flavored heavily with saffron. Load up on your favorite dry fruits and as much sugar you want to make this dish, a tradition for every festive occasion. Although the meetha pulao originates in Hyderabad, it is often interchangeable with its Persian cousin, Zarda. Both are almost the same as their preparation and ingredients.
Main ingredients to make perfect Zarda Pulao is Basmati Rice, Saffron, Sugar, Dry Fruits, and Whole spices.
Basmati Rice: Basmati is a variety of long, slender-grained, aromatic rice which is traditionally grown in India, Nepal, and Pakistan. The roots of the word basmati are Sanskrit, vas (aroma) and mayup (ingrained). In combination, mayup changes to mati, giving vasmati.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word “basmati” derives from Hindi बासमती, bāsmatī, literally meaning “fragrant”.
Sugar: Desserts and sweets hold an important place in Indian Cuisine. … sweets and desserts are prepared using the main ingredient, sweetness (sugar in different form). Whether it is Laddu, Kheer, Gulab Jamun, or any sweet/dessert. The etymology reflects the spread of the commodity. From Sanskrit (śarkarā), meaning “ground or candied sugar”, came Persian shakar, then to 12th century French sucre and the English sugar. The English word jaggery, a coarse brown sugar made from date palm sap or sugarcane juice, has a similar etymological origin: Portuguese jágara from the Malayalam cakkarā, which is from the Sanskrit śarkarā.
Saffron: Saffron (pronounced /ˈsæfrən/ or /ˈsæfrɒn/) is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the “saffron crocus”. The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected, and dried for mainly in use as a seasoning and coloring agent in food. Saffron has long been the world’s costliest spice by weight. Apart from Biryani or Pulao, the spice is also used in traditional Indian desserts such as kheer, shrikhand, peda, etc.
Dry Fruits: Dry fruits like almonds, walnuts, dates, raisins, etc. are traditionally known to be a powerhouse of nutrients. They are used in different types of sweet dishes and can also be consumed on their own. The dry fruit is rich in vitamins, proteins, minerals, dietary fiber, and an ideal for digesting system. Indians and their love for dry fruits is beyond definition. Right from gravies to desserts, from breakfast to snacks to dinner, Indian meals are incomplete without dry fruits.
Whole spices: Spices are used in different forms: whole, chopped, ground, roasted, sautéed, fried, and as toppings. They blend food to extract the nutrients and bind them in a palatable form. Some spices are added at the end as a flavoring, those are typically heated in a pan with ghee or cooking oil before being added to a dish. Lighter spices are added last, and spices with strong flavor should be added first. A list of Indian spices are here:
Ingredients
• 2 cup Basmati Rice (used Royal Basmati Brand)
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp Turmeric(opt.)
• ½ cup Whole Milk
• 5-6 Threads of Saffron
• ¼ cup Sugar
• ¼ cup Ghee Divided
• ¼ cup Slivered Almonds
• ¼ cup Cashew nuts
• ½ cup Dry Coconut Slices
• 2 tbsp Raisins
• 3 Big cardamoms
• 2 Star anis
• 1 small Stick of Cinnamon
• 3-4 Green Cardamom Crushed
• 5-6 Peppercorn
• 1 tbsp Rose water(opt.)
• For Garnishing
• 1 tbsp Slivered Pistachios
• Few Dried Rose Petals
Method
1. Wash and soak the basmati rice for 20-30 mins.
2. In a small bowl add milk and saffron and keep aside.
3. Heat 5-6 cups of water in a pan with salt and turmeric. Once it comes to boil, add the soaked rice, and cook further till the rice is about 70% cooked.
4. Strain the excess water and keep aside
5. Heat the 2 tbsp ghee in a heavy bottom pan. Add slivered almonds, coconut slices, cashews, and raisins and roast till golden, remove it into the bowl and keep aside.
6. In the same pan add remaining ghee. Once heat enough add big cardamom, star anise, small Stick of Cinnamon, Peppercorn and roast it for few seconds.
7. Add cooked rice, then add saffron soaked milk, sugar, crushed green cardamom, rose water, and mix it well.
8. Cover it and let it cook on low flame about 8-10 mins. Mix roasted dry fruits in sweet, cooked rice.
9. Garnish it with rose petals and sliced pistachios and serve.
Tips
• You can skip rose water if you don’t have it.
• You can cook rice directly with spices in the same pan, and later add saffron and sugar.
• You can use food color instead of turmeric or skip it.
• Add jaggery instead of sugar if you like it.
• Add grated ½ cup Khoya/Mawa with milk and sugar for rich taste.
- 2 cup Basmati Rice (used Royal Basmati Brand)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp Turmeric(opt.)
- ½ cup Whole Milk
- 5-6 Threads of Saffron
- ¼ cup Sugar
- ¼ cup Ghee Divided
- ¼ cup Slivered Almonds
- ¼ cup Cashew nuts
- ½ cup Dry Coconut Slices
- 2 tbsp Raisins
- 3 Big cardamoms
- 2 Star anis
- 1 small Stick of Cinnamon
- 3-4 Green Cardamom Crushed
- 5-6 Peppercorn
- 1 tbsp Rose water(opt.)
- For Garnishing
- 1 tbsp Slivered Pistachios
- Few Dried Rose Petals
- Wash and soak the basmati rice for 20-30 mins.
- In a small bowl add milk and saffron and keep aside.
- Heat 5-6 cups of water in a pan with salt and turmeric. Once it comes to boil, add the soaked rice, and cook further till the rice is about 70% cooked.
- Strain the excess water and keep aside
- Heat the 2 tbsp ghee in a heavy bottom pan. Add slivered almonds, coconut slices, cashews, and raisins and roast till golden, remove it into the bowl and keep aside.
- In the same pan add remaining ghee. Once heat enough add big cardamom, star anis, small Stick of Cinnamon, Peppercorn and roast it for few seconds.
- Add cooked rice, then add saffron soaked milk, sugar, crushed green cardamom, rose water, and mix it well.
- Cover it and let it cook on low flame about 8-10 mins. Mix roasted dry fruits in sweet, cooked rice.
- Garnish it with rose petals and sliced pistachios and serve.
You can cook rice directly with spices in the same pan, and later add saffron and sugar.
You can use food color instead of turmeric or skip it.
Add jaggery instead of sugar if you like it.
Add grated ½ cup Khoya/Mawa with milk and sugar for rich taste.
