Brown Rice Chickpea Pulao is a vegan and gluten free one pot complete meal. It has the goodness of essential nutrients from chickpeas aka garbanzo beans and a bit healthier than the white Rice as it is made using Brown Rice.

Brown rice is whole-grain rice with the inedible outer hull removed; white rice is the same grain with the hull, bran layer, and cereal germ removed. Red rice, gold rice, and black rice (also called purple rice) are all whole rices, but with differently pigmented outer layers. (Source Wiki)
Brown rice is considered to be a healthier option than white rice. I am not going into details of the benefits, one can read more about it on net. But I would say it is a good replacement for white rice.

This was my second try with brown rice. It definitely takes a lot more time to cook and has a chewy and a nuttier texture. My first trial long back with brown rice was making plain rice and I gave up because it took a lot of time. I used the remaining rice in my Idli dosa batter.
This time I was determined on making a dish with Brown Rice. I took some inputs from mys sister as she uses brown rice. And she was like I do not like it and I will not attempt a biryani or pulao with it. Still I went ahead to make this Brown Rice Chickpea Pulao.
My reason was if I dont like the rice, atleast I would have chickpea to balance out the taste and flavours. I was happy with the results. The pulao was filling due to Brown rice and chickpea. Me and my son enjoyed this as our lunch.

It is said that it takes twice the amount of water for a cup of rice. For me this Rice took almost 3 times the water to cook. I was getting a bit impatient and worried as the rice does not fluff like a typical white Basmati Rice. I then googled a few pics, and was assured that I am on the correct path.
I have adapted this recipe from my friend’s blog. I have replaced the white rice here with Brown Rice.
So here goes the recipe:
Ingredients
- 1/2 cups Brown Basmati Rice
- 1/2 Cup boiled Chickpeas
- 1 small onion, chopped lengthwise
- 1/2 tablespoon ginger paste
- 1/2 inch cinnamon stick
- 1 Black cardamom
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
- 1.5-2 Cups water
Instructions
- Rinse and Soak the rice for 30 minutes.
- In a wok or a heavy bottom pan add the oil.
- Once it gets a bit hot add the onions.
- Shallow fry them until they turn a bit brown.
- Now add the ginger paste, cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, coriander seeds, cardamom, Bay Leaf and saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Add turmeric and 1/4 cup water and let the masala simmer on slow for 2-3 minutes.
- Now add the boiled chickpeas and rice and give everything a quick stir.
- Add the remaining water and let the mix come to a boil.
- Once you get a boil, reduce the stove to medium and let the rice cook.
- Once you see the water is reduced to 1/2 cup reduce the stove to minimum and let the rice cook until all the water is absorbed.
- Do not stir too frequently or you will break the rice.
- Once the rice is done switch off and let the pulao rest for 10-15 minutes.
- Serve it with Raita or yogurt.
Notes
- 1 Cup =235 ml
- 1 tablespoon =15 ml.
Rice recipes on my blog:
- Carrot and Peas Pulao
- Tamarind Rice
- Kashmiri Pulao
- Mumbai Style Tawa Pulao
- Veg Fried Rice (Without Ajinomoto)
- Veg Schezwan Fried Rice
- Rajasthani Gatta Pulao
- Awadhi Vegetable Biryani
- Simple Vegetable Biryani (No onion No Garlic)

Brown Rice Chickpea Pulao
Ingredients
- 1/2 cups Brown Basmati Rice
- 1/2 Cup boiled Chickpeas
- 1 small onion chopped lengthwise
- 1/2 tablespoon ginger paste
- 1/2 inch cinnamon stick
- 1 Black cardamom
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
- 1.5-2 Cups water
Instructions
- Rinse and Soak the rice for 30 minutes.
- In a wok or a heavy bottom pan add the oil.
- Once it gets a bit hot add the onions.
- Shallow fry them until they turn a bit brown.
- Now add the ginger paste, cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, coriander seeds, cardamom, Bay Leaf and saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Add turmeric and 1/4 cup water and let the masala simmer on slow for 2-3 minutes.
- Now add the boiled chickpeas and rice and give everything a quick stir.
- Add the remaining water and let the mix come to a boil.
- Once you get a boil, reduce the stove to medium and let the rice cook.
- Once you see the water is reduced to 1/2 cup reduce the stove to minimum and let the rice cook until all the water is absorbed.
- Do not stir too frequently or you will break the rice.
- Once the rice is done switch off and let the pulao rest for 10-15 minutes.
- Serve it with Raita or yogurt.
Notes
- 1 Cup =235 ml
- 1 tablespoon =15 ml.
Love to read your comments and feedback. If you have any questions please ask in the comment section. I will try to answer as soon as I can.
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and
Motions and Emotions, The Well Seasoned Cook and Lisa of Lisa’s Kitchen

Romita
Sunday 6th of June 2021
Did you use coriander seeds or coriander powder?
Renu Agrawal Dongre
Sunday 6th of June 2021
Coriander Seeds as mentioned in the recipe. Thanks
Ellie Bull
Friday 14th of August 2020
I made this for my family last night for dinner and it went down a treat!! Brilliant recipe :)
Renu Agrawal Dongre
Friday 14th of August 2020
Thank You for sharing your feedback. I am so glad and happy that your family liked it.
Swati
Saturday 1st of June 2019
Substituting rice with brown rice sure sounds a very healthy alternative. Love the flavors of the rice. Wholesome one pot delcious meal!!
Kalyani
Wednesday 8th of May 2019
I love brown rice, especially for its nuttiness and enjoyed many dishes with it during this BM. Cooked and frozen CHickpeas is always in my pantry.. I would love to make ur version of this pulao sometime, Renu !
Srividhya G
Sunday 5th of May 2019
It seems like a healthy biryani and pulav day. I am seeing such awesome recipes and bookmarking all. This brown rice and chickpea pulao also go to my bookmark list. Such a delicious and healthy pulav.