Veg Pulav
Ingredients
- ½ cup basmati or long-grain rice, soaked for 20 minutes and drained
- 1 small carrot, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp green peas (fresh or frozen)
- 1 small pack soya nuggets (optional, for protein)
- 1 small sachet ginger-garlic paste (about 1 tsp)
- ½ tsp red chili powder
- 1 sachet Maggi Magic Masala (or ½ tsp any pulav/biryani masala)
- ¼ tsp garam masala
- ¾ cup water (plus more to adjust)
- Salt to taste
- Fresh coriander, chopped, for garnish
Steps
- 1
Soak the rice
Rinse the rice and soak it in cold water for at least 20 minutes. Drain before adding to the kettle. This step is important — do not skip it.
- 2
Add rice and vegetables to the kettle
Put the drained rice into the kettle. Add the chopped carrots, green peas, and soya nuggets if using.
- 3
Season
Add the ginger-garlic paste, red chili powder, Maggi Magic Masala (or pulav masala), and garam masala.
- 4
Add salted water
Pour in ¾ cup of water and salt. Taste the water before switching on — it should be slightly salty. This is how you ensure the rice is seasoned throughout, not just on the surface.
- 5
Cook until water is almost absorbed
Turn on the kettle. It will boil and shut off automatically. Switch it on again once or twice as needed. Watch through the lid — you want to stop when there is just a tiny amount of water remaining at the bottom, not when the kettle is completely dry.
- 6
Standing time — do not skip
Once only a tiny film of water remains, switch off the kettle and keep the lid tightly closed. Leave it undisturbed for 7–8 minutes. The trapped steam finishes cooking the rice gently without burning the bottom. This is the most important step.
- 7
Garnish and serve
Open the lid, fluff the rice gently with a fork or spoon, and garnish with fresh coriander. Serve hot with raita or pickle.
Tips for Best Results
💡 Taste the water for salt
The water should taste lightly salty before you switch on the kettle. Rice absorbs salt from the cooking water — if the water is bland, the pulav will be bland even if you add salt at the end.
💡 Watch for the right moment to stop
Switch off the kettle when you can still see a tiny amount of water at the bottom — not completely dry. If you let it boil completely dry, the bottom layer of rice may stick or burn. The standing time does the rest.
💡 Do not open during standing time
Every time you open the lid, you release steam and the rice cooks unevenly. Set a timer for 8 minutes and leave it completely closed.
💡 Soya nuggets add protein
Pre-soaked soya nuggets work well here — they absorb the spiced water and add a meaty bite. If using dried nuggets, soak them in hot water for 10 minutes and squeeze dry before adding.
About this recipe ↓About this recipe ↑
The Surprising Secret: Standing Time
Most people assume that cooking rice requires a flame you can control — high to bring it to boil, then low to simmer. The electric kettle has no "low" setting. But it has something a gas stove does not: insulation.
The technique here is borrowed from how rice cookers work. You boil the rice until almost all the water is absorbed, then switch off the kettle and leave it closed. The residual heat inside — trapped by the sealed lid — finishes cooking the rice gently over 7–8 minutes without any burning at the bottom.
The result is properly fluffy rice, not wet or clumped, without the scorched-bottom problem that makes rice on a high flame risky.
Why Soak the Rice First
Soaking basmati or regular rice for 20 minutes before cooking shortens the time the rice needs inside the kettle, which matters because the kettle can only cycle on and off a limited number of times before the thermal cut-off kicks in.
Soaked rice also cooks more evenly — the grains have already absorbed some water, so the heat distributes through them faster. Skip the soak and your rice may be cooked on the outside but still hard at the centre.
Recipe by MasterChef Pankaj Bhadouria
More details ↓More details ↑
A Full Meal From a Single Kettle
With veg pulav in one kettle and paneer masala in another, you have a complete meal without touching a gas stove. Both recipes are from the same video by MasterChef Pankaj Bhadouria, designed specifically for the LPG shortage.
Explore more electric kettle recipes for everything from morning chai to a hot bowl of soup.
