Salem-Style Mixed Vegetable Rice: Amma's One-Pot Sunday Miracle

Discover this Salem-style mixed vegetable rice—Poonkothai Amma's quick one-pot dish that turned a picky eater into a veggie lover. Perfect for easy Sunday lunches.

Salem-Style Mixed Vegetable Rice clicked by Arun Maruthi Selvan

---

As a child, I wasn’t very fond of vegetables—except for potatoes. That was the one thing I would eat without complaint, and it showed. I was eventually diagnosed with a Vitamin A deficiency, which, as you can imagine, isn’t great to grow up with.

No matter what my mother tried in the kitchen, the potato dish would always be the only one polished off. It got to a point where, whenever potatoes were made, they were reserved just for me—regardless of how much was cooked.

So, my mother decided to try something new. She bought a bunch of vegetables and, as a last resort, attempted a mixed vegetable rice. Now, in our home at the time, this wasn’t a regular thing at all. Rice usually came with sambar or rasam and a vegetable side, or occasionally as lemon or tomato rice. A mixed vegetable rice? That was unheard of.

But she gave it a shot. She picked a Sunday morning when she had a bit more time.

It wasn’t just a cooking experiment—it was an act of care, carved out amidst her demanding routine.

My mother was a working woman who would prepare breakfast and lunch, send me off to school, and then take a 90-minute train ride to work in a neighbouring district. That Sunday, though, she made the time to chop and cook an elaborate dish filled with everything she thought I should be eating.

And it worked. That morning was a revelation. I took multiple servings—of everything. Every vegetable. It was delicious. That dish didn’t just win me over, it became a Sunday staple in our home.

Poonkothai alias Sakthi - The original maker of this dish

What does this one-pot vegetable rice dish mean to you?

This dish was a turning point for me. It made me consume more vegetables than I had ever consumed till then in my life. I started enjoying the flavour of each vegetable. It started having a positive effect on my vitamin deficiency. And it became something I looked forward to eating every weekend. And it was unique. Every house and hotel had some kind of vegetable rice recipe, and this was different in some way. Years later, when I started my first job and lived by myself, I called up my mother to ask for the recipe to try it myself. And to my pleasant surprise, I managed to get it right! (Quite proud of my kitchen skills always, but this was a big win!) As I devoured it that day in my own kitchen, all by myself.

I knew that I was not just enjoying the dish, but also the tastes, smells and sights of home.

---

LIST OF INGREDIENTS & QUANTITY - Serves 2

For the vegetable rice

Large Onions - 2

Tomato (Small) - 2

Carrots diced - 2

Potato diced - 3

Beans chopped - 50g

Beetroot diced - 1

large Green chilli sliced - 2

Green peas - 50g

Basmati Rice - 100g

Cauliflower (if you like it)

Sakthi Masala Briyani Powder (to replicate the exact taste) - 3 spoons

For the raita

Curd

Chopped onion - 1

Green chilli - 1

Other Ingredients

Vegetable Oil

Mustard - 1 spoon

Jeera - 1 spoon

Saunf - 1 spoon

Urad dal - 1 spoon

Salt - to taste

A flavourful, healthy vegetable rice in the making

PROCESS TO MAKE THE DISH

• Chop all vegetables as mentioned in the ingredients.

• Take a large enough pressure cooker and put it on the flame. Once heated, add the oil and wait till it is heated.

• Add mustard, jeera, saunf and let it simmer.

• Then add the onions and chillis and wait for onion to turn translucent.

• Add the tomatoes and wait for it to cook nicely for about 2 minutes. Continue to stir.

• Then, add the vegetables, and Sakthi masala briyani powder. Mix well.

• Add the washed rice, and 2.5 times the quantity of water. Mix well.

• Add salt to taste.

• Close the pressure cooker and put on the whistle. Leave for 4-5 whistles and let the pressure cooker cool down.

• Once pressure subsides, open the cooker and mix well. It is meant to be a little overcooked, not the typical briyani type.

• For the raita, mix some water in the curd to make it a little runny.

• In a tadka pan, heat oil, add mustard, urad dal, jeera.

• Once Urad dal starts to turn golden brown, add the slit green chillies and the chopped onion. Saute it for 30 seconds and put into curd. Add salt to taste.

  
  

Voila! The finished vegetable rice

TIPS & VARIATIONS

Some people prefer their rice to be separate (the typical briyani type. You can reduce the water quantity depending on your preference to achieve this.

The beetroot is a unique ingredient in this, which doesn't feature in most vegetable rice recipes. But it is essential to recreate the flavours of this dish.

Cauliflower is an optional vegetable for those who like it. It wasn't easily available back in the days, so it was not a part of the ingredients. I sometimes add it but mostly don't.

Sakthi Masala Briyani powder (the one in a deep blue / purple pack) seems to be a magic ingredient that brings out the flavour of this dish. I've tried it with other masala powders which give out good outputs but this is what is original with respect to the flavours and memories. You can vary it as per your taste.

---

The contributor - Arun Maruthi Selvan

Let us know what you think of Arun's beloved memory in the comments below. Try it out and do let us know how your picky eaters loved this one!