This mildly flavored rice dish is known as matar pulao or pea pulao and it is so easy to make. The caramelized onions, aromatic spices and the sweetness from the peas make this bowl of rice taste a little extra special.
I already have a recipe for making perfect plain white basmati rice on the blog, but I wanted to share this pea pulao with you too because the truth is that most of the time, I make this pea pilaf over plain rice. That’s because it’s easy to make, tastes great and makes a simple meal feel a touch more elaborate.
In the spring and summer time, I’ll serve this pea pulao as part of a simple meal alongside this tomato stew (I skip the blending and leave it “rustic”), a spoonful of yogurt/raita and some sort of Indian pickle. So easy and tasty!
Really though, you can serve this pea pulao in any meal where you’d serve plain basmati rice. Serve it with chicken curry or paneer makhani or aloo baingan masala – the options are literally endless.
Instant Pot Matar Pulao (Pea Pulao)
Instant Pot Matar Pulao (Pea Pulao)
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice soaked for 15-30 minutes
- 3 tablespoons oil of choice
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 3 green cardamom pods
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ cinnamon stick
- ½ onion diced
- 1 cup fresh or frozen green peas
- 1 cup water
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Soak the basmati rice in cold water for 15-30 minutes. Drain, rinse and set aside.
- Press the sauté button, add the oil and allow it to heat up for a minute. Add the cumin seeds and once they begin to brown, add the cardamom, cloves, bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Give everything a quick stir, then add the diced onion.
- Stir-fry for 6-7 minutes, or until the onion begins to brown. Then add the rice, peas, water and salt. Mix well.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 6 minutes at high pressure.
- Naturally release pressure for 10 minutes. Open the valve to release any remaining pressure.
- Fluff the rice with a fork and serve.
Notes
- This is my favorite brand of basmati rice - highly recommend it.
Erika says
I made this on the stovetop. It was easy to adjust and so tasty!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Glad to hear that!
Mahnoor says
Hi
How can I scale up the recipe for 8 people ?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
I’d double the recipe!
Zainab Haider says
This has been my go to recipe for years! My kids love it with yogurt
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Zainab, that’s so great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how much your kids love it 🙂
Cait says
2nd time making this tonight and it was just as good as the first time. I’ve eaten too much 😐
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Cait, that’s so great to hear! Glad you liked it 🙂 Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you!
Aditi B says
Made this recipe for the second time today and it has turned out great! Only change is I added 1/2 cup of water more than recommended. Also added cashews for a crunch ☺️
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Aditi, happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how much you like the matar pulao 🙂
Rao Chinni says
Cane out excellent made as per the instructions. My 1st dish using instant pot
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Rao, that’s great to hear! I’m glad it turned out well 🙂 Can’t wait to hear what you think of any other recipes you try from my site!
Rashvinda says
Follow everything closely and you got a perfect dish! I had frozen veggies instead of only peas so I used frozen veggies. Turned out amazing!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Rashvinda, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for letting me know how it turned out 🙂
Jessica Siegel says
Hi, Should the Bay leaf be an Indian Bay leaf?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Jessica, yes, please use Indian bay leaf (tej patta) for all of my Indian recipes. Thank you for asking, I think I will start linking to the correct type of bay leaf to avoid confusion. Hope you enjoy this!
Jessica Siegel says
Thank you! One more question please… if I don’t have a cinnamon stick, can I sub ground? If so, how much? thanks!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
You can try 1/8th of a teaspoon — the stick helps with adding aroma more so than a lot of flavor.
Saira says
Hi I made this last night but my rice was a little crispy and not fully cooked. I followed your recipe exactly. Any clue as to what went wrong?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Saira, hmm my guess would be that perhaps the seal wasn’t on properly? Or the pot didn’t come to pressure? Can you let me know if anything seemed to have gone wrong in the cooking or timing process?
Zainab says
I love your instant pot recipes. I’m about to make this for the 5th time. Turns out great and it’s so simple
My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Zainab! I’m so happy to hear that 🙂 Thanks for letting me know how much you like this recipe!
S says
Lovely and simple, very close to how my mom makes it. I doubled the recipe, and used 1 cup frozen peas, 1 cup chopped, Yukon Gold potatoes. Doubled all the ingredients, except the oil, which I used just a quarter cup of. It made 5 comfortable servings, paired with a light, undressed salad (iceberg, arugula, celery greens, red bell pepper) but if everyone was super hungry, I would triple the recipe.
Thanks for sharing! It was excellent and I’ll be making this again.
My Heart Beets says
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how much you enjoyed this 🙂
Ketaki says
Just tried your recipes with some variations; I had a coastal blend mix of frozen veggies and added 1 tsp indian Kitchen King masala for extra flavor. The recipe turned out amazing! Thanks a lot!!
My Heart Beets says
Ketaki, that’s awesome to hear! Thanks for letting me know how this turned out for you 🙂
sudheer says
Hi Ashley,
I just loved your recipes especially biryanis.
Shall I use curd in the biryani(any type).
Hassan says
Hello,
I would like to make this recipe and double it; does the cooking time stay the same?
Also, I have a 10 qt IP. Will I have to change the way I set it or the amount of water/cooking time?
Thanks in advance,
Hassan
Sultana says
Found your blog by accident and made this recipe twice this week and the flavors are spot on!
The first time I followed the recipe exactly (with 18 minutes soak time) and some of the rice got burnt and stuck to the bottom of the pot. Also the rice were fully cooked but I would’ve liked them to be a fraction more soft than they were.
Next time I doubled the recipe with the rice soaked for 25 minutes and 2 1/3 cups of water instead of 2 cups. This time the rice were more wet than I’d like when they were done but I covered the pot with a cloth and let it sit on warm for 15 minutes and voila! perfect! [I used frozen peas both times]
Though the second time I wasn’t sure if I should let the pressure/release ratio be 6mins/10mins or more, so I used the Rice button on the pot. Would love to try your way if you can tell me how long should I pressure 2 cups of rice?
Would definitely be making some of your other recipes. Thank you!
Aleesha says
The first rice dish that I made in my instant pot – and it turned out phenomenal! Followed the recipe to the t!
Can’t wait to make your mint pulao next!
My Heart Beets says
Aleesha, that’s so great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how the matar pulao turned out for you 🙂 lmk what you think of the mint pulao!
banazer noor says
GOOD RECIPES WEBSITE I LOVE IT WELL DONE.
I TRY LAST NIGHT MY KIDS SAY YUMMY.
Preeti Chima says
I wanted to make peas pulao – I’m just starting to cook at 38 and I have had an instant pot for the last 6 months but have used it only once before to make an Irish stew. I was searching for recipes and came across yours so I decided to try it – it came out soooo delicious and its so easy! I only added a little more water (because the rice I use soaks up any amount of water) and cooked it for 2 mins extra.
Now its going to be a regular staple in my home – thanks a bunch for the recipe.
Wondering if you have any fun things I can make with super ripe pears?
My Heart Beets says
Preeti, I’m so glad you liked the pulao! 🙂
Maria says
Have you ever tried making this with brown basmati? I’m thinking I would add the peas (thawed) AFTER releasing the pressure.
My Heart Beets says
I haven’t but I think it’d be fine – I think the peas would be okay too but adding them after thawing also works 🙂
Somaya says
So good!
My Heart Beets says
Thank you 🙂
swati says
Hi Ashley!
This is the second time I’ve made this recipe word for word but somehow each time, my IP showed the burn error. I opened the pot to find some uncooked rice at the top and cooked rice at the bottom… and burnt rice also at the bottom. Used my first attempt as my cue to add more oil but sadly that didn’t help. I think I will stick to stove top method for cooking peas pulao.
I do want to say I’ve got phenomenal results from a bunch of your recipes, just not this one.
My Heart Beets says
Hi Swati, are you using a 6 quart instant pot? That’s what I use to test all of my blog recipes. What type of rice are you using? I’m not sure why you’re having this issue but if you can provide more details maybe I can help you troubleshoot!
Bhawna says
Try 1 cup rice with 1.5 cups water. High pressure for 4 mins. Then pressure release for 4 mins and release pressure leftover pressure.
Sandy Avvari Nayani says
Eating this as I’m writing to you….great recipe! I wanted a quick dinner for hubby and I after kiddo went to bed. Made this rice and hubby made a quick scrambled egg/onion/masala fry…delish! Next time I make this I’m going to add more onion – maybe even 2 medium sized onions, cut in half and thinly sliced. I cut back the amount of peas to 1 cup and there were still plenty (for those of you who might be wondering). Another solid recipe from your website, thanks!
Chaya says
Hi
I tried this
But burn alert appeared on d display.. i was following the exact pressure. Not sure what went worng? Can u please suggest?
RR says
Hi, I would like to make this for a dinner party with 10-12 adults. Can I triple the recipe with the same cooking time? I have a 6 quart IP. Also, I noticed you manually set the pressure instead of using the ‘rice’ button on the IP – what’s the difference? Thanks in advance!
My Heart Beets says
Hi! I have successfully doubled the recipe and while I think tripling would be fine in a 6 quart I haven’t tried it myself. You can try asking in my IP group! It’s called Instant Pot for Indian Food on facebook – maybe a member there can help 🙂
Sara says
I decided to make this because my youngest likes peas. OMG I am amazed at how good it is!! I kept the recipe exactly the same except added extra cardamom seeds and bay leaves, and also doubled the recipe. Soaking the rice was key (I have had trouble with the IP and rice when I don’t soak it). It is a savory dish but the clove, cinnamon stick, and even the peas add a touch of sweetness that is unexpected. Highly recommend!
My Heart Beets says
Sara, I’m so happy to hear that you liked it so much! Thank you for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂