Mishti Pulao Recipe – Bengali Sweet Pulao

The sweet aroma of Mishti pulao coming out of the kitchen was a familiar flair during holiday, special occassions or on Jummah (Friday, which is weekend in Bangladesh) in our home. It would mean there is no school, and my parents are at home. Growing up in a two-working parent household, my two younger sisters and I cherished those days as we would have our parents to ourselves for the entire time. And my mother celebrated those special days by cooking our favorite, mishti pulao. A traditional, special occasion savory rice dish with a heavenly balance of sweetness. Don’t let the name deceive you. The sweetness is not overpowering as this mishti pulao recipe is still served as a savory rice dish.

My mother goes above and beyond cooking for her loved ones. She would spend hours cooking either before going to work or after she is back. During Eid, parties or Jummah, we would hardly see her out of the kitchen. She loved seeing her 3 children, husband and other loved ones enjoying special day with a special meal.

A Bangladeshi feast always includes one or more special rice dishes such as pulao, biryani, tehari or khichuri. And mishti pulao was my mother’s go to staple for special meals on special occasions. It is such a pleasure to see how much my daughter loves it, especially with Bangladeshi style chicken roast or this very rustic curry chicken my wife cooks.

Lail and I have taken a project to collect recipes from our childhood favorites for preserving old family recipes for our daughter, nieces and nephews. My mother has written the recipe in Bangla, and I just translated.

Mishti Pulao Recipe

Mishti Pulao - Bengali Sweet Pulao

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

35 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

A Bengali style savory rice recipe with a hint of sweet. The delicate flavor of this rice dish makes it perfect for serving at dinner party, Eid party or as special weekend meal.

Author: Rebeka Sultana

Recipe type: Mishti Pulao

Cuisine: Bangladeshi

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 2 cup Kalijeera rice (or Basmati rice as substitute)
• 4 – 6 tablespoon butter (melted)
• ½ cup oil
• 3-4 cardamom
• 2-3 cinnamon sticks, about 1 inch each
• 1-2 bay leaves
• ¼ tablespoon Caraway Seeds
• 4-5 shallot, sliced (or 1 cup beresta)
• 1 tablespoon ginger paste
• 1 tablespoon garlic paste
• 2 tablespoon poppy seed
• 4-5 green chili
• 10-12 golden raisin
• 2 tablespoon powder milk
• 1 teaspoon salt, or per taste
• 2 tablespoon sugar, or per taste
• 4 cup hot water
• A pinch of food color
• FOR GARNISH
• ½ cup beresta

Instructions

1. Wash and drain rice.
2. Heat oil in a pot and fry chopped shallots to make beresta (you can also use ready to use beresta mix) and set aside in a bowl.
3. Lightly fry cardamom, cinnamon, Caraway Seeds, ginger paste, garlic paste, poppy seed, greeen chili, raisin in the same oil for 5-6 minutes and put in the beresta bowl.
4. Mix sugar with all the ingredients set aside in the beresta bowl.
5. Use the same pot and oil to lightly fry the rice for 2-3 minutes and then pour hot water.
6. Put salt in rice pan.
7. pot to allow rice to semi cook in medium heat for 10 -15 min and allow water to be dried.
8. Once rice is cooked, turn the stove to low heat position.
9. In the rice pot, add half the beresta and sugar mixture with half the melted butter.
10. Add food color if preferred.
11. Carefully turn over rice to allow the mixture to go to the bottom and then add the other half of mix and butter and turn over rice again.
12. Allow the rice to cook with beresta mix for 5 – 10 min in very low heat.
13. Serve Mishti polau garnished with beresta and your favorite meat curry.

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