Zarda Rice commonly known as Indian sweet rice/Meetha Chawal/Zarda Pulao/rice pudding is a traditional sweet from the Indian subcontinent. It is traditionally made by boiling rice (use Basmati rice for rich flavour) with milk, sugar, ghee, dry fruits, food colour (generally orange for colourful look), and an assortment of Indian spices like green cardamom, cloves.
In Pakistan and Bangladesh also they prepare this sweet rice. Often many different colours are added to make it colourful.
I made this special sweet dish to celebrate my hubby's completion of a decade in the UK.
Sending this as my 17th Day post to Blogging Marathon.
STEP BY STEP PICTURES OF MAKING ZARDA RICE
Ingredients:
- Basmati rice- 1 cup
- Chopped cashew nuts – 2 tbsp
- Chopped Badam – 2 tbsp
- Milk – ¼ cup
- Dry grapes -2 tbsp
- Coconut chunks – 2tbsp (dry)
- Orange food colour- ¼ Tsp
- Sugar – ¾ cup
- Cardamom pods – 2
- Cardamom powder – ½ tsp
- Cloves – 2
- Cinnamon stick- ½ inch
- Ghee – 3tbsp
Preparation:
Wash and soak the basmati rice in enough water for 20-30 minutes.
In meanwhile soak saffron strings in warm milk.
Heat a non-stick pan, add ghee and fry all the nuts and keep aside.
Drain the water from the rice and add to the same pan and mix gently without
breaking the rice and fry for a minute.
Add food colour along with 11/2 cup of hot water and close the lid and cook until rice is done.
Now to the cooked rice, add fried nuts along with sugar, saffron milk and mix well.
Cover and cook till all the moisture is evaporated.
Finally add cardamom powder, the remaining ghee and mix well.
Transfer into a serving bowl and enjoy rich and delicious Zarda rice or sweet rice with your loved ones.
FEW MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES
📖 Recipe
Zarda Rice | Sweet Rice | Meetha Chawal
Ingredients
- Basmati rice- 1 cup
- Chopped cashew nuts – 2 tbsp
- Chopped Badam – 2 tbsp
- Milk – ¼ cup
- Dry grapes -2 tbsp
- Coconut chunks – 2tbsp dry
- Orange food colour- ¼ Tsp
- Sugar – ¾ cup
- Cardamom pods – 2
- Cardamom powder – ½ tsp
- Cloves– 2
- Cinnamon stick- ½ inch
- Ghee – 3tbsp
Instructions
- Wash and soak the basmati rice in enough water for 20-30 minutes.
- In meanwhile soak saffron strings in warm milk.
- Heat a non-stick pan, add ghee and fry all the nuts and keep aside.
- Drain the water from the rice and add to the same pan and mix gently without
- breaking the rice and fry for a minute.
- Add food colour along with 11/2 cup of hot water and close the lid and cook until rice is done.
- Now to the cooked rice, add fried nuts along with sugar, saffron milk and mix well.
- Cover and cook till all the moisture is evaporated.
- Finally add cardamom powder, the remaining ghee and mix well.
- Transfer into a serving bowl and enjoy rich and delicious Zarda rice or sweet rice with your loved ones.
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Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#99
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Such a rich and yummy rice..the pic says it all.. totally worth for celebrating a decade.. Congrats 🙂
Zarda is rich and exotic and a perfect way to celebrate a occasion . That bowl looks super flavourful and I wouldn’t mind enjoying it as my meal .
Yummy and inviting zarda. I can finish off that sweet rice bowl in one sitting. 🙂
A great dish worth for any celebration. Looks very festive also. Would love to finish off that bowl 🙂
This is one super rich pulao perfect for occasion. The color is wonderful and being cooked in milk, this must taste amazing.
Zarda pulao looks too good. Love the vibrant color it has got. Good one Pavani
This is one of my favorite.. Love that color of that rice. Guess what, I have mine coming up tomorrow.
That dish surely looks outstanding and worth all the celebrations! Congrats on the milestone..sorry it skipped notice!
Beautiful presentation pavani, feeling like grabbing the bowl off the screen.
Zarda Pulao is so perfect to cook on festivals and special occasions .. your look so flavourful and delcious!! Beautifully presented.
Looks great!!