By Aditi Saraswat
December 8, 2025
Chicken Pulao is a comforting one-pot dish to go for when you want something full of flavours but simple. Soft chicken pieces cooked with whole spices and fragrant basmati rice make a hearty, satisfying meal without requiring any detailed steps.
500g chicken 1½ cups basmati rice 2 tbsp ghee 1 tbsp oil 2 onions (thinly sliced) 2 tomatoes (chopped) 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste 1 bay leaf 4 cloves 1 cinnamon stick 1 black cardamom 2 green chillies 1 tsp garam masala ½ tsp turmeric 1 tsp salt 3 cups water handful coriander
Thoroughly wash basmati rice and soak for about 20 minutes so that the grains expand while cooking and do not break.
In a pan, heat some ghee and oil. Sauté the whole spices, sliced onions and ginger-garlic paste until they turn golden and fragrant.
To this base, add chicken, turmeric and salt. Cook till the chicken turns white and begins to release the juices.
Now, add tomatoes and green chillies. Cook till the tomatoes turn soft, and spices evenly coat the chicken pieces.
Add the drained rice, garam masala and water to this. Mix gently without breaking the rice grains.
Pressure cook for about 3-4 whistles until everything is cooked. Let it rest for 10 minutes, then garnish with coriander and serve hot.