Raisin & Pine Nut Pulao {Instant Pot}

5 from 1 vote

This Raisin & Pine Nut Pulao {Instant Pot} is a Pakistani version of a delicious vegetarian traditional Middle Eastern Pilaf.

Prep Time5

Cook Time35

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Pakistani

Keyword: Easy Pulao Recipe, instant pot pulao, rice pilaf with pine nuts, rice pilaf with raisins, rice with golden raisins, vegetarian rice

Servings: people

Calories: 446kcal

Author: Nosheen Babar

Ingredients

¼ cup cooking oil
2 onions
2 tsp garlic paste
2 tsp salt
2 tsp corriander powder
1 stick cinnamon (SEE NOTES)
8 cloves (SEE NOTES)
2 black cardamom (SEE NOTES)
10 black peppercorns (SEE NOTES)
2 tsp black cumin seeds
2 cups basmati rice
½ cup golden raisins
2 ½ cups water
½ cup pine nuts (SEE NOTES)

Instructions

Set your Instant Pot to Saute and add the cooking oil to it.
Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onions to it and fry them till they are a nice deep brown (SEE NOTES).
Add the garlic paste and saute for about 30 seconds just till the aroma is released.
Add the salt and corriander powder and saute some more.
Add the rice, water, whole spices and raisins. Stir and seal the Instant Pot (SEE NOTES)
Make sure the knob is on Seal and set the timer on High pressure for 4 minutes.
Once the 4 minutes are up, do a 15 minute pressure release and then turn the knob to vent.
Open the lid carefully, fluff the rice gently, dish it ot and sprinkle with the pine nute (SEE NOTES)

Notes

The Whole Spices - You can add the whole spices as is or make a small pouch by tying them in a small piece of cheese cloth and dropping them in the water. They will still release the aroma and you won't have to pick them out later.

The Pine Nuts - You can add the pine nuts as is or dry roast them slightly in a non stick frying pan to bring out the flavor.

The Onions - Caramelizing the onions well is essential to the color AND flavor of the pulao. Most Instant Pots have a timer for the saute function and usually this step takes about 15 minutes or so. My Instant Pot Saute timer is set to 15 minutes, but for some recipes this is not sufficient. Once the timer shuts off I just restart the timer again. If I'm done before the 15 minutes, I just press cancel!

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