Chana Pulao / Pilau – Chickpeas and Rice Pilaf

I originally posted this recipe in 2016, when the blog was still in its infancy and didn’t yet have any children.

I am updating this post today in 2023 and now have two children – a 6 year old girl and a 2 year old boy – and this chana pulao is without doubt one of their favourite ways to have rice!

I love to prepare this on a day when I’m just not bothered to go all out. Those Mummy-ed out days.

It’s a simple, one pot crowd pleaser that I know both the kids will wolf down without any battles – and as many mothers will know, those meals are the best meals!

My recipe requires minimal ingredients (just rice, chickpeas, onions and oil) and a small handful of aromatic whole spices which you’ll probably have on hand if you cook Pakistani, Indian or Bangladeshi food often.

How to cook Chana Pulao

This recipe is just so easy and quick, you’ll see why it’s such a favourite!

Start by heating up some oil in a pot or pan and then add some thinly sliced onions. Fry these over a medium to high heat until they turn golden.

Add in cumin seeds, cloves, black cardamom, cinnamon, salt and green chilli. Fry this for a few more minutes, until the onions turn a darker shade of gold.

Add in chickpeas and water (quantities are listed further down in the recipe card), and once the water comes to a boil, add in some basmati rice that has already been washed and soaks for at least 30 minutes.

Allow everything to cook over a high heat, stirring gently a few times until most of the water has dried out and everything looks like this:

Once you get to this stage, get a tight fitted lid ideally lined with a clean cloth, put the lid onto the rice and turn the heat down to the lowest possible setting. Allow the rice to cook like this (dum) for 10-15 minutes.

Fluff the rice up well before serving.

Tips to make your Chana Pulao delicious!

• Basmati rice is always my choice of rice when cooking Pulao. However, if you find you struggle with mushy, raw or unevenly cooked basmati rice, you can use sella basmati rice. It’s very difficult to mess up sella rice. I have a useful YouTube video here about how to perfect basmati rice.
• This recipe calls for tinned chickpeas, but chickpeas cooked from raw taste best. You can use them in this recipe – substitute the same amount of tinned chickpeas for fully cooked chickpeas.
• My favourite onions for using as the base of a Pulao are red onions. They impart a deeper, sweeter flavour than white onions. They also help with getting the colour of the Pulao darker
• Which brings me to my next point – I am frequently asked how I get my Pulao to have a better colour. It’s all about the onions! The darker your onions are, the darker your Pulao will be. Think of the onion as a dye for the rice. So red onions fried very well (not burnt of course, just a beautiful dark hue) will result in beautifully coloured rice. 
• I have loads of information about how to make the best Pulao, regardless of whether it’s a Chana Pulao or a Chicken Pulao here.
• The original recipe I uploaded in 2016 didn’t contain any green chilli, but I’m updating it in 2023 with the addition of a few whole green chillies. These do not add any spice at all, but rather impart a lovely aroma which I am a huge fan of. My children, including my very spice-averse daughter, have absolutely no issues with it. If you’d like to impart some heat into the rice, I’d recommend chopping the green chillies before adding them.

What should I serve with my Chana Pulao?

Chana Pilau to me has always been one of those rice dishes that is delicious on it’s own and also goes with anything. Serve it alongside any curry, any chutney or even on it’s own with a simple salad, it does so well! I think it goes particularly well with Chicken Bhuna, Aloo Tikki and Aloo Gosht, but there’s not limit to what you can serve it with! Also, a good raita on the side will do wonders!

How to double or triple this recipe

If you’d like to double or triple this recipe, you can double/triple the quantities of all the ingredients without any issue – the only thing that needs to be recalculated is the water.

This is the ratio of water to rice I use for all my Pulaos: Cups of water = cups of rice +1

What this means is: if you have 4 cups of rice, use 5 cups of water. If you have 8 cups of rice, use 9 cups of water. If you have 5.5 cups of rice, use 6.5 cups of water. And so forth. Please note, all cups used in this are standard 250ml measuring cups.

Other Pilau / Pulao (pilafs) on Fatima Cooks:

Chicken Pilau

Prawn Pilau Biryani

Mattar Pilau

Mutton Pilau

A note on adding yogurt and tomatoes to Pulao

Some people like adding yogurt and tomatoes to their pulao. I actually feel really strongly about not adding both those in! I personally find I really don’t like tomatoes in pulao. Yogurt seems to go fine for me, however my main qualm with these add-ons is that is bulks up the liquid that the rice needs to absorb and makes it more heavy and the rice not as fluffy.

Another issue I have but this is purely a personal issue ha! I’m huge on sticking to traditional methods and ways when it comes to Pakistani food. A traditional Pulao does not contain tomatoes and yogurt. We may develop a personal preference or liking for those add-ons and that’s completely fine! But I always like my Pulaos without the bulk-up.

Simply put, there’s no need to add tomatoes or yogurt!

Enjoy, with love x

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