Daliya Pulao, also called Broken Wheat Pulao, is a light, nutritious one-pot meal made with broken wheat (dalia) and mixed vegetables. Learn to make this wholesome dish in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop in just 30 minutes. It is perfect for a weeknight dinner with raita.
Daliya, also called cracked wheat or broken wheat, is popular all over the wheat-consuming regions of North India. It is a type of dried, cracked wheat that can be used in sweet or savory dishes. I have shared the recipe for lapsi, a sweet dish made with daliya.
This daliya pulao is similar to rice pulao and quinoa pulao recipes. It follows the same method for making it in a pressure cooker. You can also make it as a daliya khichdi by adding more water when cooking the daliya.
This same recipe can be used to make Bulgur Pilaf too. Even though bulgur is not exactly the same as daliya, the recipe works well for bulgur wheat.
Growing up, my mom made the sweet version of daliya more frequently. However, now I like this savory daliya much more. I love to make this easy one-pot meal for weeknight dinners, as it comes together with minimal effort. This nutritious and filling meal is excellent for the whole family.
This quick and easy recipe is made in an Instant Pot but can be made in a traditional pressure cooker. I have included the details in the recipe below.
Table of Contents
What is Daliya or Broken Wheat?
Daliya is a whole wheat grain that is cleaned, broken, and processed to be coarse. It is known by many names, such as Sambha Rava and Godhuma Rava. It is also commonly known as cracked wheat or broken wheat. Daliya is a very common ingredient in Indian cuisine and is used to make a variety of recipes, such as this pulao, upma, and daliya kheer.
Ingredients
Daliya: You can find it easily at Indian grocery stores. You can use fine or coarse varieties in this recipe. If you can’t find daliya, you can also use bulgur in this recipe. Even though they are not the same, bulgur can be used in this recipe. The only change would be that it can cook quicker than broken wheat, as it is parboiled.
Whole Spices: I used bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, black peppercorns, and cumin seeds. It is okay to make this daliya pulao without whole spices, too, but I love the sweet aroma they add to the final dish.
Aromatics: We will add green chili, onions, and ginger. I added finely diced yellow onions and used freshly grated ginger.
Tomato: Adds a little tangy taste to the dish. However, you can also make this daliya pulao without tomatoes.
Spices: This pulao is mildly spiced, so feel free to increase the spices to your taste. I have used turmeric powder, red chili, coriander powder, and salt.
Oil and/or Ghee: You can use ghee or oil, or a combination in this recipe. I love to use ghee, as it gives a richer taste to the final dish. To keep the rice vegan, use any plant-based oil of your choice.
Vegetables: You can use fresh or frozen veggies of your choice. I have used a frozen mix of carrots, green peas, corn, and green beans. Other options include bell peppers, mushrooms, and cauliflower, among others.
Garnish: I like to sprinkle a little lemon or lime juice over the daliya once it’s cooked. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.
Recipe Tips
Vegetables: You can use fresh or frozen veggies in this recipe. Use veggies you have on hand and easily customize this pulao.
Ghee: This daliya tastes even better when made with ghee. Top with a dollop of ghee before serving.
Use Bulgur: You can use bulgur wheat instead of daliya in this recipe. The only change would be that the cooking time will be a little lower. Bulgur is parboiled or steamed, then dried and crushed into grains. Hence, it cooks faster than daliya.
Daliya Khichdi: This same recipe will work well for making daliya khichdi. Just add 1 cup more water when cooking the daliya.
Storage: Daliya pulao can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If it gets too dry, add a sprinkle of water.
How to Serve Daliya Pulao?
Daliya pulao is best served hot, topped with a spoonful of ghee. Pair it with cooling raita and kachumber salad on the side.
Give this easy and nutritious Daliya Pulao a try and let me know in the comments how it turns out.
Fun fact: This was the sixth recipe I posted when I started this food blog. Below is the original image I had shared 🙂
More Pulao Recipes To Try
Rice & Grains
Chana Dal Pulao
Rice & Grains
Peas Pulao (Matar Pulao)
Rice & Grains
Chicken Pulao
Rice & Grains
Beetroot Rice Pulao (Instant Pot & Stovetop)
Instant Pot Daliya Pulao (Bulgur Pilaf)
Equipment
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Ghee or Oil
- 1 cup Onion, finely diced
- 1/2 cup Tomato, chopped
- 1 Green Chili Pepper, chopped
- 2 teaspoon Ginger, grated
- 2 cups Mixed vegetables, (green peas, carrots, beans, corn)
- 1 cup Daliya (Broken Wheat), or you can use bulgur wheat
- 2 3/4 cup Water
- 1-2 teaspoon Lemon or Lime juice , optional
- Cilantro, to garnish
Whole Spices
- 1 Bay leaf (Tej Patta)
- 3 Cloves (Laung)
- 2 Green Cardamom (Elaichi)
- 1 inch Cinnamon (Dalchini)
- 10 Black Peppercorns, whole
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
Spices
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
- 1/2 teaspoon Red Chili powder (Mirchi powder)
- 1 teaspoon Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
- 1 teaspoon Salt, adjust to taste
Instructions
- Heat the instant pot in Sauté mode and add oil. Add the whole spice and let them saute for a minute until they release their aroma.
- Add green chili, onions, and ginger. Sauté for 3-4 minutes until onions are lightly golden.
- Add tomato and spices. Stir and saute for 3 minutes.
- Add the mixed vegetables, daliya, and water. Give it all a good stir. Scrape anything stuck to the bottom and deglaze the pot. Close the lid with the vent in the sealing position.
- Change the instant pot setting to manual or pressure cook mode at high pressure for 5 minutes.
- When the Instant Pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Then release the pressure manually (10 minutes NPR). Add the lemon juice, and garnish with cilantro. Serve daliya pulao hot with raita.
Stovetop Pressure Cooker
- Follow the same steps on medium-high heat in a stovetop pressure cooker until adding the daliya, veggies, and water. Then pressure cook for 3 whistles. Let the pressure release naturally, then open the lid. Add the lemon juice and garnish with cilantro leaves. Enjoy daliya pulao with raita.
Awesome recipe. Thanks for posting
Hi Yamuna – Glad to hear you liked it!
Thanks ! Tried this recipe in pressure cooker and came out really well. Skipped onions, kept it simple. Will try it in my Instant pot next time 🙂
Hi Kay – Glad to hear you enjoyed the pulao!
hi Meeta, i saw message how to cook dalia or broken wheat, do i have to soak the wheat before cooking? look forward to your reply.
Hi Kala – I do not soak the Dalia before cooking in this recipe. Hope you enjoy the pulao!
Hi!
I’d like to try your dalia recipe but I don’t have a pressure cooker. How can I make it using a conventional pot? Thank you 🙏🏾
Hey Meeta,
I have made this recipe thrice till now and must say this recipe is a keeper👍😊. Only thing is that I made this in normal pressure cooker and not an IP. However, it just turns out great and it’s a family favorite 🤩
Hi Deepa – So good to hear that. Thank you for sharing your experience 🙂
Have you ever doubled this recipe? If so, did you double the liquid as well?
Hello – I have not tried doubling this recipe. However for a similar recipe of rice pilaf, I do double the liquid when doubling the quantity of rice. So I would think double the water will work well in this case too.
It sounded great, but after trying your recipe twice now, following your instructions… I can definitely say *it doesn’t work*! 1st the Bulgur is not completely cooked after the 5min at high pressure and 10 min natural release…. Neither are the carrots (yes I veeery finely chopped them). It’s unfortunate, as I can tell the overall taste is great….
Hello Sara – Sorry to hear that the bulgur did not cook well. Usually baby carrots cook under pressure in 2-3 minutes. Hence as you mentioned that finely chopped carrots did not cook even in 5 minutes under pressure, I wonder if the pot came to pressure? It is totally fine to try cooking for longer, even up to 10 minutes high pressure if that works well for the bulgur you have. I would just ask to confirm if the pin came up and the pot was pressurized. Thank you for sharing back your experience.
I followed exactly the same recipe but turned out to be a disaster..very disappointed ? it showed up burn message and I opened twice and deglazed the bottom but still same problem
Hey Janvi – Sorry to hear you got burn message. I am just trying to understand what could have gone wrong – Did you use fresh tomatoes? Dod you scrape the bottom and deglaze before starting to pressure cook? Do you have a burn issue with other recipes too or only this one stands out? It is also possible that the bulgur variety is different which soaks more liquid.
First – love your recipes. My go to for any cooking recipes now 🙂
Great job and please keep helping people like me.
On this one recipe though – I had the same issue as Janvi. Tried it thrice now – same results each time. The dreaded BURN message. I even used a second instant pot liner when I got a burn message ( to avoid scraping , washing etc) but still the same results.
How much time it takes in total for cooking..?
Hey Nupur – The total time will be around 30 minutes for this recipes. I am counting 5 minutes for prep, 10 minutes coming to pressure, 5 minutes pressure cooking and 10 minutes for pressure release. Hope that helps!
Hi Meeta, saw your blog on instant pot page and came looking for this recipe. Defi going to try. Need all the one stop reciepes with a little one in tow. Great work! please keep posting 🙂
Hey Sayli – Great to connect with you here. Instant Pot is definitely a savior with needed less babysitting, when you have little ones. Do share how it turns out 🙂
How much water we need to add to 1 cup of broken wheat
Hi Sujata – I added 2 cups of water. Hope that helps!