Beetroot Rice or Beet Rice Pulao made in the Instant Pot, is a great way to sneak in some beets into your diet. Easy, vegan & gluten-free meal perfect for busy days.
Recently I tried ordering produce from imperfectproduce. They are creating a marketplace for produce that goes to waste as it does not look perfect to be in a supermarket, but is as nutritious and delicious. What a great idea! I wanted to support it, and subscribed to their service. I got my first box of produce with lots of beets, which are awesome in summer. So here is the recipe for beets with an Indian twist - Beet Pulao or Beet Rice prepared in the pressure cooker.
Growing up in India, I have always known beetroot. However as I was browsing recipes, I saw most of them just mentioning beet. I wondered maybe it is a short version, until I checked wikipedia (the most trusted source ;-). I found that "The beetroot is the taproot portion of the beet plant, usually known in North America as the beet, also table beet, garden beet, red beet, or golden beet.". So it is not just a nickname, it is really the name and hence the name of this recipe now "Beet Rice".
Beetroot Nutrition
I always like to write about the nutrition of the main ingredients used in the recipe. So here is a bit about Beets.
"Beet is of exceptional nutritional value - low in fat, full of vitamins, minerals, iron, and packed with powerful antioxidants - a health-food titan". They are also an excellent source of folic acid and a very good source of fiber, manganese and potassium. Although I don't use the beet greens in this recipe, they are also very nutritious and can be cooked up and enjoyed in the same way as spinach.
If you like beets, learn how to steam beets in the pressure cooker or try these air fryer beets if you like them crispy.
Ready to use up some of the beets in this nutritious rice? Not just nutritious, this pulao is also very easy to prepare in our very loved Instant Pot. So let's get going!
How to make Beetroot Rice in Pressure cooker
This is a fairly easy preparation for the beet rice. The first step is to heat the oil and sauté the whole spices. I like to throw in some whole spices for the aroma they add to the dish, but frankly they are optional.
Then add in the onions, ginger, garlic paste and sauté for a few minutes. Add the chopped beets and any other veggies you want to add. I added green peas, as that is what I had at hand. Other possible options to add are potatoes, bell peppers, carrots and edmame.
Now you are ready to add the rice and water, and cook the rice on manual or pressure cook mode for 4 minutes at high pressure. That is it for the active time to prepare this rice!
When the instant pot beeps, do a 10 minute natural pressure release. This means let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then release the pressure manually.
Beetroot Rice is ready. Mix in the lemon juice and fluff the rice. If you like, you can garnish with cilantro and/or cashews. Enjoy it with raita or homemade yogurt.
I love the colors in this beet rice. Since I started preparing this dish 2 weeks ago, I have already made this 4 times and served to friends, who all loved it. Who wouldn't?? 🙂
Try this Beet Rice and let me know how you like it. If you are looking for more rice recipes, check out Lemon Rice, Vegetable Pulao, Chicken Biryani and Khichdi recipes on Piping Pot Curry.
Instant Pot Beet Rice Pulao
Ingredients
- 1 cup Basmati Rice (1 cup=250ml)
- 1 ¼ cup Water
- 1 tablespoon Ghee or Oil
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- ½ tablespoon Ginger paste
- ½ tablespoon Garlic paste
- ½ Onion thinly sliced
- 1 Beet or Beetroot cut into small pieces
- ½ cup Green peas
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
Whole Spices (optional)
Spices
- 2 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Cayenne or Red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon Garam masala
- 1 teaspoon Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder) (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
Instructions
- Start the instant pot in sauté mode and heat it. Add ghee, cumin seeds and whole spices and sauté them for 30 seconds until the cumin seeds change color.
- Add the sliced onions, ginger, garlic and sauté for 3 minutes.
- Add the beets, green peas and spices. Mix well.
- Add the rice and water to the pot. Stir the ingredients in the pot. Close the lid with vent in sealing position.
- Change the instant pot setting to manual or pressure cook mode for 4 minutes at high pressure.
- When the instant pot beeps, do a 10 minute NPR. This means let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then release the pressure manually.
- Add the lemon juice and fluff the rice.
- Beet Pulao is ready. Enjoy with homemade yogurt or raita.
Notes
- Adding whole spices is optional. You can enjoy this beet pulao even if you don't have all the whole spices in your pantry.
- To reduce spice, skip the cayenne.
- I added green peas along with the beets, as that is what I had at hand. Other possible options to add are potatoes, bell peppers, carrots and edmame.
- If you don't have an instant pot, you could also prepare this beet pulao in the stovetop pressure cooker. I suggest one whistle for the rice, and let the pressure release naturally.
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
How long would this last in the fridge? Has anyone tried freezing it?
Hi Karishma - You can refrigerate this pulao for up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month. Hope you enjoy it!
This was so delicious I am already making it again!!
Hi Judy - Glad to hear you enjoyed the Beet Pilaf!
Tried this for dinner tonight. Doubled up on the quantities and used spiralled beets for ease. Turned out great. Thank you!
Hey Jincy - Glad you enjoyed the pulao. Thank you for sharing your review and the delicious photo on Facebook 🙂
Tried this today and it came out quite nice, sometimes my pulao comes out mushy in IP, but in this case, it was perfect. Will try your other rice recipes as well. Thanks..
Hey Amy - So happy to hear you enjoyed the pulao and it cooked perfectly. I would love to hear how any other recipes you try turn out. Thank you!
Our all time favorite! This one rocks
So happy to hear you all enjoy the Beet Pulao. Thank you for sharing your review!
Hi Meeta! I made your beet pulao yesterday and loved it! My pulao turned a deep red/purple haha but I did not mind because it was such a beautiful and royal color! How did you get your pulao to maintain its color?
I am new to your blog and LOVE it!!
Thank you, Manisha. Glad you found the blog 🙂 I think it might be the quantity of beets added. Try adding lesser next time so the color is only spread near the beet pieces. Also, fluff the pulao once you open the ip. I would love to hear any feedback for other recipes you try!
When I cook this In rice cooker I add my beets only towards the end part of rice cooking , almost when rice and water are at the same level. , that way all rice don't get the red color .... but I don't know how to do this in an IP. Would really want to know.
Hi Shakun - I agree that might be an issue in the instant pot where everything is cooking together. I added the beets and then did not stir. You can also try with adding rice and water, and then just put the beets on top and not stir. Another option is to cook the beets along with the pulao with the pot-in-pot method and mix them in the rice after cooking.
Do you use a raw beet, or cook it first?
I use raw beets and they just cook up with the rice.
How long would you cook this with brown basmati rice?
It gets a little tricky with brown rice, as they take 22 minutes to cook at high pressure. In that much time, the veggies will turn to a mush. Here is what I would do - Start cooking brown rice pot-in-pot, for 18 mins at high pressure. Then remove them. Put the ip on saute mode, and do the steps to saute onions, ginger, garlic. Add the beets, veggies and spices. Then add the half cooked rice along with the water. Pressure cook for 4 mins at high pressure and 10 minutes NPR. Hope that helps!