Corn Pulao

I had Corn Pulao at a function and since then i have always been wanting to make one! I have tried 2-3 variations of it but this one is easiest to make... takes less than half an hour... so you might want to consider making this if you have unexpected guests ( provided you have corn in the fridge :)) for lunch or dinner. This dish in itself fills your stomach, so no need to make a side-dish. You can serve this with pickle/chutney or boondi raita.

I suggest you always have a packet of corn in your fridge..you can make corn chaat, add corn to any vegetable or just plain boil it and toss it with salt and pepper ! It tastes Yummmmmm....Apart from the nutritional benefits of providing vitamins, protein and fiber it gives a great colour to any dish. And all corn recipes are usually time-saving !

You can add any vegetables to this pulao according to your choice. I have added carrots and peas as i wanted the colours to come out ( red/green/yellow). Looks tempting, isn't it? I like the crispiness of the vegetables and didnt want to overcook them, hence i have stir-fried them. If you want, you can boil all of them and mix it with rice and cook, or add the boiled vegetables to cooked rice and steam for 2-3 mins.

Ingredients:

Green Peas - 1/2 cup ( fresh or frozen)

Carrot - 1 medium ( peel and chop lengthwise)

Corn - 1/2 cup ( wash the corn thoroughly)

Rice - 1 cup ( Preferably Basmati rice. Wash and soak it in water for 15-20 mins )

Water - 2 cups

Oil/Butter/Ghee - 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp on top (optional)

Spices : ( you can even use 1-2 tsp of readymade biryani/pulao masala available in market but i prefer grinding these fresh)

Peppercorns/ Black pepper - 8 to 10

Dalchini - a small piece

Cardamom ( Elaichi) - 2

Bay leaf( Tej patta) - 1 small

Jeera - 1 tsp

Fennel seeds ( saunf ) - 1/2 tsp ( optional)

Cloves/Lavang - 3-4

Salt to taste

Recipe:

Heat 2 tbsp of oil/butter/ghee in a Cookware bowl or a Cook-n-Serve bowl. You can even make it in a pressure cooker if you dont have a bowl. If you make it in a pan, make sure it is big enough to hold the rice and vegetables both. I would not recommend cooking this recipe in a kadhai.

Add corn and fry them for 1-2 mins. Then add the peas and carrots or any chopped vegetables of your choice. Stir fry all of it till they are semi cooked ( still crisp and not too soft). Smells great, dont they?? :)

Meanwhile, dry roast all the spices on a tava. Let it cool and then grind it to a powder.  Add this powder to the stir fried vegetables and fry for another 2 mins. Then add the soaked rice ( throw away the water ) and mix everything well. Add about 2 cups of water, salt and cover and cook until rice is done.

Garnish with corriander leaves ( Personally, i like the colours of vegetables so i dont like to add corriander leaves to this. I prefer adding 1/2 tsp lemon juice )

You can even add 1 tbsp of ghee or butter on top.

Happy Cooking :)