Name: Gongura Pickle Pulav | Instant Pot Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 tbsp oil; 1 tbsp cumin seeds; 1/2 tsp fennel seeds; 4 cardamom pods; 3 cloves; 1- inch cinnamon; 1 cup onion (finely chopped); 15 mint leaves; 3/4 tsp salt; 1 tsp jaggery (powdered); 1.5 tbsp gongura-onion pickle (store-bought); 1 1/3 cups water; 1 cup rice (soaked for 15 minutes and drained)

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Gongura Pickle Pulav – A tangy, spicy and lip-smackingly delicious pulav with gongura pickle made in Instant Pot. Check out yet another easy pulav recipe with detailed step-wise pictures.

Gongura:

Gongura is a plant, and its tangy leaves are edible and quite popular in Telugu cuisine. In Tamil, we call it as pulicha keerai. Even though we see it used widely in South Indian cuisine, gongura leaves are quintessential in Telugu cuisine. Gongura pachadi, gongura pickle, gongura pulihora, gongura pappu are well-known extensively.

Every year, we get our fair share of homemade gongura pickle from our friends, and I love it with plain rice and yogurt rice. I have also made pulihora with fresh gongura leaves. I need to post it here on my blog, hopefully, this summer. :-)

Store-bought Gongura Pickle:

Even though homemade gongura pickle has its charm, you don’t need homemade one for this pulav. You can always opt for a store-bought one. And that’s what I did. When I picked Priya biryani masala for my eggplant biryani, I found the gongura onion pickle from the same brand and out of curiosity I chose it. (PS: This is not a sponsored post)When I was exploring biryanis and pulavs, gongura pulav and biryani came up for alphabet G and instead of using fresh leaves, I decided to use the pickle, and that’s how I came up with this recipe.

I made this pulav in the Instant Pot and I used the “Rice” preset as I used for my fenugreek leaves pulav.

Guess what; this is vaandu’s favorite pulav. The kiddo liked the spicy and tangy combination, and he enjoyed it. So without any further ado, here is the gongura pickle pulav recipe.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
4 cardamom pods
3 cloves
1-inch cinnamon
1 cup onion, finely chopped
15 mint leaves
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp powdered jaggery
1.5 tbsp gongura-onion pickle, store-bought
1 1/3 cups water
1 cup of rice, soaked for 15 minutes and drained

Steps:

Set the Instant Pot in the saute and when the display shows HOT, add the oil.
After 30 seconds, add the cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon stick. Fry for 30 to 45 seconds.

Then add the chopped onion and mint leaves. Saute until the onion turns translucent.

Now add the salt and jaggery.

Then add the gongura-onion pickle.

Mix well until the pickle is well combined.

Add water and mix thoroughly. Make sure the pickle is blended well.

Next, add the rice and mix gently.

Press the cancel button and then close the Instant Pot lid and make sure the vent is in the sealing position.
Press the “Rice” preset button and when the cooking is complete, allow the pressure to release naturally.

Carefully open the lid after releasing the pressure and allow the pulav to cool for 5 minutes. Then fluff it up with a fork. Serve hot with raita.

Recipe Notes-

Adjust the salt according to your preference and also depending upon the pickle.
I did not add any spices like red chili powder or garam masala. The pickle was quite spicy. But if you need more spice, then you can include red chili powder or green chilies. I used some red chili flakes to garnish.

PS: If you try this gongura pickle pulav, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. Also, please check out my videos and do subscribe to my YouTube channel.