Name: Zarda Pulao | Instant Pot Zarda Pulav
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 2 tbsp ghee (unmelted); 10 almonds; 10 cashews; 2 cardamom; 2 cloves; 10 raisins; 1/8 tsp turmeric; 10 saffron strands (soaked in 1/4 cup luke-warm water for 30 minutes); 1 cup water; 1 cup basmati rice (washed and soaked in water for 30 minutes); 3/4 cup sugar; 2 tbsps milk (or water)

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Zarda pulao or meetha chawal is a simple saffron-flavored sweet rice made with sugar and nuts. Make this sweet pulav any time in your Instant Pot and enjoy any occasion.

I had a lot of options for the alphabet Z like zafrani pulav, zucchini pulav, etc. But I went with zarda pulav because I wanted to end this marathon with a sweet recipe. I started participating in these month-long April marathons from 2015. And I still can’t believe that this is my fifth year and I completed it, successfully. Phew! I hope you all enjoyed my posts. Thanks for all your love and support.

April always throws some surprise challenges, and it was the case this year too. I managed it somehow and completed this A-Z Biryani-Pulao series. As always, I learned a lot of recipes from my fellow bloggers and my bookmarks had increased exponentially. Hope I can try those delicious recipes soon. Anyways, now let’s get back to the Zarda pulao recipe.

Zarda:

Zarda is a dessert pulao that is typically served after a meal. Zard in Persian means yellow and zarda rice means yellow colored rice. But I learned that orange some versions use orange food color and for some different food colors are added to make the rice colorful. The traditional version has khoya/milk solids, nuts, raisins, and saffron. But I kept mine simple and sweet. Also, I did not add any food color instead added a pinch of turmeric powder. I know its odd, but I did not want to add any artificial food color as I usually make this as Prashad/offering for God. When I go to the temple or on Thursdays, I try to make, and this Zarda pulao is one among them. I made this for taking it to the temple. As you can see in the pictures, I have pulao in the aluminum tray. I just took a small amount in the bowl for photos and kept it for us, and that tray went to the temple here.

Cooking Zarda Pulao in Instant Pot:

Usually, for other pulaos and biryanis, I soak the rice only for 20 minutes. But for this recipe, you can soak from 30 minutes to 40 minutes. I soaked for 30 minutes. Also, the cooking time is slightly high. I cooked the rice on high-pressure mode for 7 minutes and also released the pressure naturally. As we are adding sugar, we need more cooking time. If you are using sela basmati rice for this pulao, cook for 9 minutes.

Now let me share how I made this Zarda pulao in the Instant Pot.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp ghee, unmelted
Ten almonds
Ten cashews
Two cardamom
Two cloves
Ten dried raisins
1/8 tsp turmeric
Ten saffron strands soaked in 1/4 cup luke-warm water for 30 minutes
1 cup of water
1 cup basmati rice, washed and soaked in water for 30 minutes
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsps of milk or water

Prep-Work:

Wash and soak the basmati rice for 30 minutes.
Soak the saffron strands in luke-warm water for 30 minutes.

Steps:

Set the Instant Pot in saute mode. When the display shows “HOT,” add the ghee and allow it to melt. Now add the almonds, cashews, raisins, cardamom, and cloves — Fry for 40 to 45 seconds.

Add the plain water, and the saffron water and Turmeric powder. Mix it.

Next add the sugar, rice and milk/water.

Gently mix and let it simmer for just one minute.

Press the cancel button and close the Instant Pot lid and make sure the vent is in the sealing position. Now pressure cook for 7 minutes in high pressure and release the pressure naturally.
Carefully open the lid after releasing the pressure and allow the pulao to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.

Gently mix. Garnish it with crushed nuts and serve warm.

Recipe Notes-

Make sure you are using a different sealing ring for the Instant Pot. I have two sealing rings, one for desserts and one for curries and biryanis. You don’t want your Zarda to smell like biryani.
Add nuts of your choice. You can add crumbled khoya and pomegranate arils after cooking the rice as a garnish.
Adjust the sugar according to your preference.