Bou Khuda (Boua Pulao or Bou Khudi)

Bou Khuda is a flavorful ricePulao from the Bengali cuisine, made using broken rice grains also known as Khud or Khuder chal in Bengali. 

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• A pulao cooked with rice discard
• Blog to plate pop-up
• Tips
• Here's how I make Bou Khuda at Debjanir Rannaghar:
• Recipe Card
• Rice recipes from Debjanir Rannaghar:
• Have you tried the Bou Khuda recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!
• Here's the Bou Khuda Polao Pin for your Pinterest Board!

Rosie inquired about the name "Bou Khuda" while acting as my hand model for a photo shoot of a bowl of Boua Pulao. She also questioned why I frequently take pictures of her hands alongside the food, even though she is my daughter's nanny who lives with us.

I was about to describe Bou Khuda, but decided to address Rosie's second question first. I said "You know Rosie you are my favorite hand model apart from Pasta. I love the way you pose with the food. You are so very natural; and simple and humble too.  You are like the Bou Khudi Pulao we are clicking now. Humble yet unignorable and required. To answer your second question; Bou Khuda is simply Pulao cooked with Khud, which is broken rice. Bou means daughter-in-law, while Khuda has a double meaning, either referring to hunger or the broken rice. Both meanings are equally fitting for this type of Pulao."

Bou Khuda!

Bou Khuda is not a dish I grew up eating. It was not commonly made at my home. Bou Khuda is a popular dish in Bangladesh, which is a type of pulao made with leftover or easily available vegetables and the discarded portion of rice. As for me, the dishes I had while growing up were "Jemon Temon Pulao" or "Bhat Bhaja," not Bou Khuda.

I first tried Bou Khuda at my cousin's place, cooked by her mother-in-law. It was a simple, savory pulao made with broken rice and aloo bhaja, with the distinct aroma of ghee. It was a new experience for me, but I found it to be comforting. When asked about the dish, the mother-in-law shared the story behind it with a smile, likely reminiscing about her home country.

"You know it is fun watching the young generation purchasing mini Moghra or broken rice these days. Broken rice was not something matriarchs used to cook for the entire family but for themselves only. Nothing was to discard; not even the Khud! It was their Mantra and probably the hard reality of life when resources were limited!" I remember her muttering.

A pulao cooked with rice discard

I then found the reference of Bou Khuda in an age-old Bengali recipe book. This pulao is also known as Boua or Bou Khudi or Khuder Polao. In Bangladesh, they serve it with different types of Bhorta. I make it quite often at home. In fact, both Pasta and Mehebub love this light Pulao prepared with Aloo Bhaja. Khud is not easily available in Kolkata these days and that is why I make this with broken rice. At times I soak normal rice (Gobindobhog or Tulaipanji) in water and then crumble it a bit to make Bou Khuda.

Blog to plate pop-up

This humble pulao is well-adored by my family and probably that is the reason I have included this as part of my upcoming pop-up. I am hosting my first pop up with Madhushree on 16th December, 18 which we have named Blog to Plate with Madhushree and Debjani. We aim to come up with a series of pop up under the umbrella of "blog to the plate".

Madhushree di is not only a good friend but also a great cook and a famous recipe blogger based out of Kolkata. It is been long we both are cooking and writing on our respective food blogs; Debjanir Rannaghar and Pikturenama but this is for the first time we are coming up with the dishes which are there on our blogs. The Version one is all about Bengali food. You may check the menu below and if you are reading this post now and have time you can book your seat using this link: https://imojo.in/5scj0c.

Tips

Coming back to Bou Khuda; the dish calls for Khud or broken rice. I prefer to use ghee while making it and also mustard oil. You can obviously replace Ghee with Oil. Apart from that, you may use any veggie available at home to make it, however; I prefer to add fried potatoes (aloo bhaja) as well as a few seasonal veggies. apart from that little onion and very few spices are needed to make this dish.

Here's how I make Bou Khuda at Debjanir Rannaghar:

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Recipe Card

Rice recipes from Debjanir Rannaghar:

•  
• 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)
• Masoor Daler Patla Khichuri (also known as Bengali Masoor Dal khichuri)
• Peas Pulao (Also known as Matar Pulao)
• Red Lentil Khichdi)
• Ghee Bhat (Also known as Bengali Sweet 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)
• 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
• Crab Biryani (Also known as Crab Dum Biryani or Nandu Biryani)

Have you tried the Bou Khuda 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 on dolonchttrj@gmail.com. Meanwhile, on Instagram, you can use my hashtag #debjanirrannaghar and in addition, you can tag me at @foodofdebjani.

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Here's the Bou Khuda Polao Pin for your Pinterest Board!