Pudina rice is quite popular in South Indian homes. You can find various variations to this recipe, but the Pudina Potato Rice is the favorite of my family. I made this rice more than a decade ago when I had to make something super-fast for dinner. My cousins planned a visit that night, and each of them had their preference when it came to food.
I had a good amount of pudina growing in my kitchen garden, and I decided to make pudina rice. Not everyone eats all the vegetables, however, the potato was the favorite of them all. So, I made this Pudina Potato Rice and used very few spices to keep the mint flavor intact. And, it was a huge hit with everyone. From then, I have made this almost once every week and we never get bored of it.
Pudina Potato Rice is a must-try. This rice dish is very fragrant, and the spices added to give it a perfect taste. It is not too spicy or minty but has very a balanced flavor. Apart from potatoes, you can even add peas and other vegetables like carrot or cauliflower to the dish. But this is how me and my family like to eat this. This is a perfect lunch-box recipe or can be served for both lunch and dinner.
Pudina Potato Rice
We all know the health benefits of Indian mint/pudina. The goodness of this herb can be enjoyed with flavorful basmati rice when you make this simple one-pot meal. It takes amazing with plain curd or cucumber onion raita. The dish can also be made in a pressure cooker or a rice cooker. The instructions remain the same when you are making this in a pressure cooker. However, if you want to make this in a rice cooker, you can follow the same steps till the rice is added to the spices and pudina paste. Then, transfer the rice to the rice cooker, and then add the required amount of water.


Ingredients
- Basmati Rice – 1 Cup
- Fresh Pudina Leaves – 1 Cup
- Green Chillies – 3-4 (Can be changed based on the spice tolerance)
- Ginger Garlic Paste – ½ Tbsp
- Onion – 1 Medium Size – Sliced Finely
- Potato – 1 Large – Diced
- Star Anise – 1
- Black Cumin/ Caraway Seeds (Shah Jeera) – 1 Tsp
- Cloves – 3-4
- Cinnamon – 2-3 1-inch pieces
- Oil – 1 Tbsp
- Water – 1 ½ Cup
- Salt to Taste
For the Raita
- Cucumber – 1 Small
- Onion – 1 Medium
- Fresh Coriander Leaves – 1 Tbsp
- Curd – 1 cup
- Salt to Taste
Instructions
- Wash and soak the basmati rice. Keep it aside
- Made a paste of pudina leaves and green chilies.
- Take a dish, add oil and wait till the oil is slightly hot.
- Add the spices, and let them fry for 30 seconds.
- Add the sliced onions and fry till the onions almost turn translucent.
- Add ginger garlic paste, and fry till the raw smell disappears.
- Add diced potato, and fry for a minute.
- Add the ground pudina paste, and cook for about a minute.
- Add the basmati rice (drain all the water), add the required amount of salt, and mix it all well.
- Add 1 ½ cup of water, and check the salt.
- Mix it all well, and keep it on high heat or high flame.
- Let the water come to a boil, reduce the heat/ flame to medium, and place a lid.
- Cook till the rice is almost done. Remove the lid, gently mix, and reduce the flame/heat to low.
- Cook for 5 more minutes with the lid on. Turn off the flame, and let the rice sit for a few minutes before you serve.
- For the raita, grate the cucumber. Add onion and coriander leaves to graded cucumber, and add salt.
- Next add curd and mix them all well.
- You can garnish the pudina potato rice with chopped coriander if you want. I skipped this step as my kid is not so fond of coriander leaves.
- Serve hot and piping pudina potato rice with cucumber onion raita and enjoy.
Additional Information
Simple & Delicious Mixed Vegetable Curry (Vegetarian)
Crispy Babycorn – Spicy and Delicious
Eggplant Curry (Andhra Style)