Ghee Bhat aka Bengali Sada Pulao is a Semi-sweet Pulao cooked with Fragrant rice, nuts, and spices. Ghee plays an important role to make it effectively flavorful and hence, the name!
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The regular Bengali Pulao, Ghee Bhat
"What's for lunch today!" is the question I (and my cousins) used to ask almost every weekend. We were waiting for the reply that "there's Mangsho or Aloor Dum". At times, both my mother and Jethima were kind enough to make GheeBhat pair with Sunday's Mangsho or Saturday's Aloor Dum. Aromatic Rice cooked with veggies and nuts and most importantly Ghee, Ghee Bhat is so very Bengali. It used to be a treat for us to have aromatic rice.
Bengali Ghee Bhat, a perfect substitute for Pulao?
Ghee Bhat is a signature Bengali Pulao prepared with veggies and nuts and it tastes on the sweeter side. Basically, it is a rice dish that is between Fried rice and Pulav. It’s also known as Misti Pulao in Bengal. You can use either Basmati Rice or Gobindobhog Rice to make GheeBhat. Whenever I serve it with any vegetarian dish I prefer to use Gobindobhog Rice but when serving it with Non-veg dishes, I opt for Basmati Rice. I love to add lots of veggies to make it tasty as well as healthy. Our “Nabami” dinner this year was having Ghee Bhat along with Kancha Lanka Murgi!
Bengali Ghee Bhat FAQ
First and foremost; color! Basanti Pulao is signified by the yellow color of the pulao while ghee bhat signifies the flavor of ghee, the smell of the spices, presence of veggies and nuts! We do not use veggies in Basanti Pulao.
Really? Do you mean no-ghee Ghee Bhat? No thanks! I will skip that or I will have that but will not call it Gheebhat. Ghee Chat calls for ghee, period!
Recipe Card
Ghee Bhat | Bengali Sweet Pulao
Equipment
- 1 Vessel
- 1 Vessel Lid
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Knife
- 1 Chopping Board
- 2 Bowl
Ingredients
- 500 g Basmati Rice
- 50 g Ghee
- 50 g White Oil
- 1 Carrot chopped
- Half Cup Green Peas
- 10 French beans Chopped
- 4 Green Chilies based on your taste
- 2 pieces Cinnamon
- 8 Clove
- 3 Bay Leave Tej Pata
- 2 Dry Red Chili
- 4 Green Cardamom
- 1 Black Cardamom
- 1 Tsp. Sahi Jeera
- ½ Jaiphal Powdered
- 1 Javitri chopped
- 1 Tsp. Bengali Garam Masala Powder
- 50 g Cashew nut
- 50 g Raisins
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 5 Tbsp. Sugar
Instructions
- Wash rice 3-4 times and keep that aside.
- Take a large vessel / covered pan (preferably a non-stick vessel and take the ghee and oil and heat it.
- Add Cashew nuts and raisins to the hot ghee-oil mixture and fry them and keep them aside after frying.
- Now temper the Ghee-Oil mixture with Cinnamon, Bay Leave, Clove, Dry Red Chilies, Green Cardamom, Black Cardamom, Sahi Jeera, Jaiphal, and Javitri, and cook for two minutes.
- Add chopped French beans and Carrots first and cook for 3-5 minutes on low flame.
- Then add Green Peas and again cook for some time.
- Add a little salt for seasoning.
- Now add washed rice to the mixture and fry for around 5-6 minutes on low flame. It’s very important to fry rice properly to get the typical taste.
- Add the rest of the salt and sugar and Garam Masala Powder and again cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Now it’s time to add water.
- You just need to take double the water proportionate to the rice. What I do is I used the same bowl where the rice was kept to get the proportion.
- Add the right proportion of water and mix the rice loosely with a ladle and add fried cashew nuts and raisins to it.
- Add slitted green chilies to the mixture to get a fresh aroma.
- Bring the water to a boil and after 2 minutes take a spoonful of water and taste it to check the salt and sugar and adjust accordingly.
- Cover the vessel with a lid loosely and cook for 10-15 minutes or till 90% of the water has evaporated in medium or low flame.
Notes
Nutrition
Serving Ghee Bhat!
It goes superbly with typical Bengali veg or non-veg side dishes; however, I love to serve it with Aloor Dum/ Kosha Mangsho / Chicken Kasha/ Kancha Lanka Murgi/ Goalondo Steamer Curry, or on special occasions, I serve it with Makhmali Chicken.
Rice Recipes
- Awadhi Vegetable Tehri (Also known as Veg Tehri)
- Bhat Bhaja (also known as Bengali Bhaja Bhat)
- Bangladeshi Mutton Tehari (Also known as Gosht Tehari)
- Bou Khuda (also known as Boua Pulao or Bou Khudi)
- Bengali Niramish Khichuri (also known as Bhoger Khichuri aka Bengali Khichuri)
- Murgi Khichuri (also known as Murgir Mangshor Khichuri
- Ilish Pulao (Also known as Bengali Hilsa Pulao Recipe)
- Dhakai Morog Pulao (also known as Sahi Morog Pulao)
- Kolkata Mutton Biryani (also known as Calcutta Biryani)
- Birista Pulao (Also known as Piyaz Beresta Pulao)
- Masoor Daler Patla Khichuri (Also known as Bengali Red Lentil Khichdi)
- Ghee Bhat (Also known as Bengali Sweet Pulao)
- Masoor Daler Patla Khichuri (also known as Bengali Masoor Dal khichuri)
- Peas Pulao (Also known as Matar Pulao)
- Khejur Gurer Payesh (also known as Bengali Rice Kheer with Date Palm Jaggery)
- Niramish Bhuni Khichuri (also know as Bengali Bhuni Khichuri)
- Muri Ghonto (Also known as Bengali Fish Head and Rice Mishmash)
- Pish-Pash (Also known as Indian Rice and Chicken Hotchpotch)
- Kolkata Mutton Biryani (Also known as Calcutta Biryani)
- Chaler Payesh (Also known as Bengali Rice Kheer)
- Crab Biryani (Also known as Crab Dum Biryani or Nandu Biryani)
Have you tried the Bengali Ghee Bhat Recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!
Do let me know how it came out. Also, I would love to see a picture of the same which you can share here at dolonchttrj@gmail.com. On Instagram, you can use my hashtag #debjanirrannaghar or can tag me at @foodofdebjani.
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Here's the Perfect Bengali Gheebhat Recipe Pin for your Pinterest Board!
About Debjani Chatterjee Alam
I am Debjani Chatterjee Alam. A CSR specialist by profession and a food writer, food blogger, and food photographer as well. I live in Kolkata along with my Husband Mehebub who is an architect by profession, my daughter Pasta, and also my dog daughters Coffee and Luchi.
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