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a plate containing delicious looking chicken matar pulao
5 from 2 votes

Matar Chicken Pulao (Peas Chicken Rice Pilaf)

Blog: cookingwithnelo.com

Author: Nelo Samad
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • ½ cup cooking oil - any neutral oil
  • 1 medium (150 g) onion - thinly sliced
  • ½ teaspoon black peppercorns - aka sabut kali mirch
  • 6 cloves - aka laung
  • 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick - aka dalchini
  • 2 black cardamoms - aka bari elaichi
  • 2 green cardamoms - aka choti elachi, pods should be fully intact
  • 2 teaspoons cumin seeds - aka safaid zeera
  • 1 star anise - aka badiyan ka phool
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds - aka saunf
  • 1 pound (500 g) chicken - skinless, bone-in, cut into pieces (Note A)
  • 1 teaspoon ginger paste
  • 1 tablespoon garlic paste
  • 2.5 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons coriander powder - aka dhaniya powder
  • ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder
  • ¼ cup (60 g) plain yogurt - mix until smooth
  • 3 small green chilies - finely chopped, adjust quantity to taste (Note B)
  • 1.25 cups (200 g) green peas - aka matar, frozen or fresh (Note C)
  • 3 cups (710 ml) water
  • 1 medium (120 g) tomato - thinly sliced, I use Roma tomatoes
  • ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro - aka coriander/hara dhaniya
  • ½ inch piece of ginger - peeled and julienned
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice - fresh
  • 6 small green/red chilies - whole, uncut
  • 2 cups (400 g) sella/parboiled basmati rice - washed, soaked for 2 hours, then drained (Note D)

Instructions

  • Have all ingredients prepped and ready before you start cooking. You can use the checkboxes next to each ingredient to track your prep.
  • Heat oil in a large pot/saucepan over medium heat. Add sliced onion and cook until it starts to turn golden around the edges.
  • Add whole spices (black peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, black cardamoms, green cardamoms, cumin seeds, star anise, fennel seeds). Sauté for 1 minute.
  • Add chicken pieces and cook until they are no longer pink. Add ginger paste, garlic paste, stir and cook for 2 minutes.
  • Mix in salt, coriander powder, and garam masala, and cook for 2 more minutes. Add yogurt and 3 chopped green chilies (adjust quantity of chilies to taste). Cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until the chicken is almost done. Add a few tablespoons of water, only if needed, to prevent burning.
  • Add peas and cook for 2 minutes. Then pour in 3 cups of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
  • Once boiling, add sliced tomato, chopped cilantro, julienned ginger, lemon juice, and 6 whole green/red chilies (pull the stems out, but chilies should have no cuts or openings to avoid extra heat). Also add the soaked, drained rice and gently stir to mix.
  • Partially cover the pot with lid and let liquid reduce over medium-high heat (or medium if your burner is strong). Don't stir yet, just keep an eye. At first, the bubbles on the surface will be big and vigorous. As the liquid cooks down further, you'll start to see small bubbles and steam holes across the surface. That’s your cue to give a brief, gentle stir. Some liquid (around 10 to 20 percent) will still be left, which is intended.
  • Cover completely with lid right away, and reduce heat to the lowest setting. Let it steam for 15 minutes. If using regular basmati instead of sella basmati, steam 10 minutes instead. DO NOT remove the lid. No peeking, no stirring.
  • Turn off the heat. DO NOT remove the lid yet and leave the pot on the same burner. Let the rice rest for 15 minutes so it finishes cooking in residual heat.
  • After the resting time, remove the lid, plate the rice using a flat, wide utensil like a rice paddle, and enjoy.

Notes

Note A: Chicken – I prefer skinless, bone-in chicken, but boneless works too. For pulaos and biryanis, I have the butcher cut a chicken into 12–14 pieces, depending on size.
Note B: Green Chilies – These are added in two steps. Chopped chilies in the flavor base, then whole chilies during the steaming/dum step. That’s why they appear twice in the ingredient list.
Note C: Green Peas – I usually use frozen peas. No need to thaw, just rinse to remove any ice. Fresh peas are firmer and may need slightly longer cooking.
Note D: Rice – Regular basmati works if you don’t have sella, but it’s less forgiving if mistakenly overcooked. Soak 30 minutes and steam 10 instead of 15. Everything else stays the same.