Carrot Zucchini Rice Pilaf Recipe

A few mouthful of this flavorsome carrot zucchini pilaf with natural plain yogurt, that is all you need to make a complete, comfy and cozy meal. This pilaf is a delight courgette lovers.

In my childhood I was never fond of Indian desserts which my mommy and granny used to prepare. Not even the very famous ‘Rice Kheer’ aka ‘Rice Pudding’, which every kid loves. Strange? Yes! I was a bit different in that sense! I only loved two Indian sweets, kaju katli, and rasmalai. And of course, I loved chocolates, and I still love chocolates, so wasn’t an exception in that sense at least. 😉

My granny was always worried about me. She used to say—’what kind of a kid are you, who doesn’t like sweets?’ If by any chance I tasted some sweet stuff, she would have been the happiest person at that moment. Well, I could not understand her LOVE for me at those times.

But now I can totally co-relate how it feels when a child does not eat particular things. It’s such a huge pain for parents and grandparents.

But something has changed inside me since I got married. Now I love to eat all kinds of sweet stuff. Sometimes I just crave for sweet things. I don’t know how it happened, but it happened really so FAST.

Now I am equally sweet, savory toothed, as I crave for both sweet and savoury stuff!!

Let’s talk about this gorgeous ‘Carrot-Zucchini Rice Pilaf’ I made yesterday! A few mouthful of this flavorsome pilaf with natural plain yogurt, that is all you need to make a complete, comfy & cozy meal.

If we want a simple yet exotic dinner, I often prepare this, and serve this pilaf to my family. This carrot-zucchini pilaf is a BIG HIT at my home.

This easy style rice pilaf recipe has got flavors, veggies, spices, and rice! And this is also simple, quick, no pain all gain recipe! It’s extra warm and comfy. Most of us need something warm, and cozy these days. And this pilaf has everything to keep you feeling all warm.

I am talking about spices, rice, and garlic—all real winter essentials.

What is Pilaf?

Pilaf, pilau, or pulao is a rice based dish where rice is cooked in water, stock or broth along with some spices and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat. Rice Pilaf recipe is usually cooked in the same pot with the meat / vegetables / beans and other ingredients.

There are many different ways of preparing Pilaf. This pilaf dish can either be made using basmati rice, arborio rice, long grain rice, short grain rice or jasmine rice.

What is Carrot Zucchini Rice Pilaf?

This zucchini carrot rice pilaf is perfect when you want something healthy, nutritious and delicious but don’t have much time to cook. This is also a super simple recipe to make, because the ingredients used in this recipe are fairly simple.

This zucchini Indian recipe takes 30 minutes from start to finish, and feels like warm HEAVEN! With a spicy and slightly tangy flavour, it’s hard to believe that it’s made so fast. And I want to warn you here—this plateful of Pilaf is dangerously addictive stuff!

If you try it once, you will know for sure what I mean! 🙂

Sometimes in the evenings we are tired to get-up and do not want to cook something which takes long time. And any salty chips or other snacks do not feel satisfying when you have savory cravings. The good news is that you don’t have to crave anymore!

Because I have got the answer to the spontaneous feeling, ‘I want something comfy and spicy and savory, and I want it NOW!!!’

A plateful of this Carrot Zucchini Rice Pilaf would taste as if you went to a fancy restaurant and ordered a fancy meal. Nothing beats that! This is a kind of concoction between the biryani and pulav means double YUMMY!

You don’t have to be an expert chef to make this AWESOME pilaf at home and to make your loved ones happy. For me, cooking is all about making my family happy. No fancy skills are required there!

I added some spicy curry powder to this recipe. However, if you don’t love curry powder you can replace this with red chili powder. While it takes less than an hour to make, it’s the perfect dish for a weekday night.

If you like this Carrot Zucchini Rice Pilaf Recipe then you might also like these pilaf recipes I have shared earlier: Mushroom Pepper Pilaf With Grilled Veggies Cauliflower Pilaf

Let’s now learn how to make with step-by-step photo instructions:

Take a heavy bottom pan. Add oil to it, and let it heat. Add cumin seeds, green cardamom, cinnamon stick, dried red chili, black cardamom, and star anise. Sauté for few seconds.

Add chopped onions, chopped garlic, and sauté for few minutes.

Now add tomatoes, green chilies and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add grated carrot, grated zucchini, salt and sauté for 5 minutes.

Add curry powder, garam masala powder, and mix well.

Add drained rice, and 2 cups of hot water. Mix well, and let the water come to boil. Cover and cook in low flame for about 10 minutes or until the rice is well cooked. Do not overcook the rice.

Then drizzle a tbsp of clarified butter on top, if you want. Garnish with coriander leaf, purple grapes, raisins and fresh salad. Serve hot with Yogurt and some pickle.

5-4-3-2-1-attack. Ummmmm, so so GOOD 🙂

**Love this pilaf? Then you may also love these pulao/pulav recipes: Onion Capsicum Pulao, Gatta Pulav, Mushroom Pulao, Mint Pulav, Mushroom Peas Corn Pulav, matar pulao, and paneer pulao.

Carrot Zucchini Rice Pilaf Recipe [Recipe]

A few mouthful of this flavorsome carrot zucchini pilaf with natural plain yogurt, that is all you need to make a complete, comfy and cozy meal.

---

★★★★★
(Rating: 5 from 49 reviews)

---

Prep time 🕐	Cook time 🕐	Total time 🕐
10 mins	30 mins	40 mins
Category ☶	Cuisine ♨	Serves ☺
Main	Indian	4
Nutrition Info ⊛		Serving size ⊚
244 calories		1 serving

---

INGREDIENTS

Carrot Zucchini Rice Pilaf Recipe:

• 1 cup basmati rice (soaked at least for one hour in water)
• 2 cups hot water
• 1 cup grated carrot
• 1 cup grated zucchini
• Salt as per taste
• 1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup onion chopped
• 2 tablespoons garlic, grated or finely chopped
• 4 pods green cardamom (hari elaihci)
• 2 pods black cardamom (moti elaichi)
• 1 inch cinnamon stick (dalchini)
• 1 star anise (chakraphool)
• 2 dried red chili (sukhi lal mirch)
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala powder
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder (you can also use cayenne pepper)
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• 2 tablespoons raisins
• 1/4 cup grapes (I used purple)
• 2 tablespoons oil (I used olive oil)
• 1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter), optional

---

INSTRUCTIONS:

How to Make Carrot Zucchini Pilaf:

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan.
2. Add cumin seeds, green cardamom, cinnamon stick, dried red chili, black cardamom, and star anise.
3. Saute for a few seconds or until they start to splutter.
4. Add chopped onions, chopped garlic, and saute for 3-4 minutes.
5. Now add tomatoes, green chilies and saute for 3-4 minutes.
6. Add grated carrot, grated zucchini, salt, and saute for 5 minutes.
7. Add curry powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder, and mix well to combine.
8. Add drained rice, and 2 cups of water. (Use boiling water for faster cooking).
9. Mix well, and let the water come to boil.
10. Once boiling, cover the pan with a lid and cook on low flame for about 10 minutes or until the rice is well cooked. Do not overcook the rice.
11. Then drizzle 1 tablespoon of clarified butter on top, if you want.
12. Garnish with coriander leaves, grapes, raisins, and fresh salad.
13. Serve hot with raita and some pickle.

---

NOTES:

1. No notes for this recipe.

---

If this recipe helped you, then please spread the word by sharing and subscribing to us on YouTube to get more such Recipe Videos.

---

Your feedback is so helpful for me and other My Ginger Garlic Kitchen readers. So, for Facebook and Instagram, please mention @MyGingerGarlicKitchen or #mygingergarlickitchen. I would love to see your photos. :)

---

Author: Anupama
Recipe Source Link: https://www.mygingergarlickitchen.com/carrot-zucchini-pilaf/