Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Gucci Pilau
Gucci Pilau ()

Gucci Pilau

Vegetarian

Gucci Pilau is a rich basmati rice dish cooked with ghee, morels and whole spices, with saffron for colour and aroma. It tastes buttery, earthy and aromatic.

Whole spices for the ghee

7 gAdded to the hot ghee before the morels (step 5)
01
Cumin seed · Jeera
6 g1 tablespoon
spice
02
Indian bay leaf · Tej Pattafresh
0.4 g2 leaves
spice
Keep whole: add them together to the hot ghee.

Saffron soaking

0.3 gStirred in with the water before boiling (step 8)
01
Saffron · Kesarsoaked in a little warm water
~0.3 g1 pinch
spice
Soak in a little warm water until needed.

Everything else

01
Basmati rice · Basmati Chawal
200 g
grain
02
Unsalted butter or ghee · Makhan / Ghee
200 g
oil/fat
03
Morel mushroom · Gucchifresh
200 g
vegetable

Method

  1. Rinse 200 g basmati rice under cold water until the rinsing water is clear.
  2. Soak the rice in warm water for up to 30 minutes, until the grains swell.
  3. Drain the rice well.
  4. Melt 200 g unsalted butter or ghee in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat.
  5. Add the whole spices for the ghee (6.3 g cumin seed and 0.4 g indian bay leaf) and fry for about 30 seconds, until they crackle.
  6. Add 200 g morel mushroom and fry for 30 seconds more.
  7. Add the drained rice and stir until the grains are coated.
  8. Pour in 800 ml water and the saffron soaking (0.3 g saffron soaked in a little warm water).
  9. Bring to the boil.
  10. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, until the rice is soft and no liquid remains.
  11. Serve warm.

Don't have something?

Basmati rice
  • Plain boiled rice

    Use 2.5 times the weight if substituting pre-cooked rice. Fold in gently at the end of the recipe; grains will be shorter and less fragrant.

Unsalted butter or ghee
  • Ghee or butter

    Use the same weight; choose ghee for a nuttier aroma or butter for a creamier taste.

  • Unsalted butter

    Use the same weight; melt gently and do not let it brown unless the recipe wants that.

  • Ghee

    Use the same weight; it has no milk solids and a stronger aroma, so the dish tastes richer.

Cumin seed
  • Ground cumin

    Use 70% of the weight; add with ground spices or sauce bases rather than hot oil tempering, where it scorches quickly and turns bitter.

  • Black cumin seeds

    Use equal weight for oil tempering. Delivers an earthy profile with an additional musky, smoky, and slightly bitter edge.

  • Fennel seed

    Use 60% of the weight for tempering; offers comparable warm aroma, but leans sweet and liquorice-like rather than savoury and earthy.

Indian bay leaf
  • Bay leaf

    Use the same number or weight. Ordinary bay is milder and lacks the cinnamon-clove note; add early and remove before serving.

  • Cassia bark (Chinese cinnamon)

    Use about 1 g cassia for every 2 g Indian bay leaf. It gives a warm cinnamon note but not a true laurel flavour; remove before serving.

  • Cinnamon stick

    Use a small 1 cm piece for 2 leaves. It adds warm sweetness but not bay flavour; remove before serving.

Morel mushroom
  • Button mushroom

    Use the same weight, sliced; milder flavour, so add a pinch of dried porcini or extra garam masala if you have it.

  • Chanterelle mushroom

    Use the same weight, cleaned and torn; similar woodland flavour, cook 5–7 minutes.

  • Dried morel

    Use 10 g dried for every 100 g fresh; soak in hot water for 20 minutes, rinse well, and use the strained soaking liquid in the dish.

Saffron
  • Ground turmeric

    Use 15% of the saffron's weight. Replicates the bright yellow colour well, but lacks the floral, earthy depth; use sparingly to avoid bitterness.

  • Screwpine water or rosewater

    Use a few drops combined with a tiny pinch of ground turmeric to mimic both the regal floral aroma and the golden hue.

Similar dishes

Pilau Rice
Pilau Rice tastes lighter and less rich than this dish, with warm cumin and bay aroma but no earthy mushroom or saffron note.
  • Same: Pilau Rice shares basmati rice, whole cumin seed, Indian bay leaf, and a pilau cooking style with this dish.
  • Different: Pilau Rice lacks morels and saffron and uses only 13.2 g ghee, while this dish uses 200 g butter or ghee and adds 200 g morel mushrooms.
Basic Rice Recipe
Basic Rice Recipe is mild and clean, while this dish is rich, aromatic and savoury with an earthy mushroom note.
  • Same: Both are basmati rice dishes, and Basic Rice Recipe also cooks its rice by absorption so the grains steam dry.
  • Different: Basic Rice Recipe uses only basmati rice and salt, while this dish adds butter or ghee, cumin seed, Indian bay leaf, morels and saffron.
Plain Rice
Plain Rice tastes mild and clean, without the rich buttery, earthy mushroom and saffron aroma of this dish.
  • Same: Plain Rice shares basmati rice as its only main ingredient with this dish, and both are cooked to keep the grains separate.
  • Different: Plain Rice has only water and salt, while this dish adds butter or ghee, cumin seed, Indian bay leaf, morels and saffron.
Sada Chaawal
Steamed Rice
Sada Chaawal tastes clean, neutral and fluffy with separate grains, unlike this dish's rich, buttery, aromatic and earthy morel-saffron flavor.
  • Same: Sada Chaawal shares basmati rice as its main ingredient with this dish.
  • Different: Sada Chaawal uses salt and vegetable oil, lacks this dish's morels, cumin, bay and saffron, and is steamed plain rather than cooked as a buttery pilau; neither dish uses a souring agent.