This baby corn pulao is a spiced and tasty rice dish made with baby corn, rice, tomato, herbs and spices.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 30 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 2
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: North Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup basmati rice (or seeraga samba or any regular rice or 200 grams basmati rice)
  • 100 to 150 grams baby corn (or 12 to 14 baby corns)
  • 2 tablespoon oil
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 inch cinnamon
  • 1 small to medium tej patta ((indian bay leaf))
  • 2 to 3 green cardamoms
  • 2 to 3 cloves
  • 1 small star anise ((chakriphool) - optional)
  • 50 grams onion or 1 medium onion (finely chopped or ⅓ cup finely chopped onion)
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder ((ground turmeric))
  • ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder ((or cayenne pepper or paprika))
  • ½ teaspoon coriander powder ((ground coriander))
  • 1.5 to 2 cups water (for pressure cooking)
  • salt as required
  • 1 to 2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves (for garnish)
  • 65 grams tomato (or 1 medium tomato or ½ cup chopped tomatoes)
  • ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves
  • 1 or 2 green chilies (- chopped)
  • ½ inch ginger (- chopped)
  • 3 to 4 small to medium garlic cloves (- chopped)

Method

Soaking rice

  1. Rinse 1 cup rice first a couple of times in water. Then soak in enough water for 30 minutes.
  2. After 30 minutes, drain the rice and keep aside.

Preparing the ground paste

  1. When the rice is soaking, prepare this ground paste. Take the chopped ingredients - tomatoes, coriander leaves, green chilies, ginger and garlic cloves in a small chutney grinder jar.
  2. Without adding any water, grind to a chutney like consistency. Keep aside.

Making baby corn rice

  1. Heat oil in a 2 liter pressure cooker.
  2. Add the following spices and saute on low heat till they crackle - cumin seeds, cinnamon, tej patta (Indian bay leaf), green cardamoms, cloves and star anise (optional). Make sure not to burn the spices.
  3. Next add finely chopped onion. Stirring often saute the onions till they become golden on low to medium heat.
  4. Then add the ground paste carefully. Take care as the mixture may splutter. Stir and saute for 1 to 2 minutes on low heat.
  5. Next add the spice powders - turmeric powder, red chili powder and coriander powder. Stir and mix very well.
  6. Add sliced or chopped baby corn (100 to 150 grams baby corn). Stir and then add the rice.
  7. Stir and mix the rice with the rest of the ingredients.
  8. Add 1.5 to 2 cups of water. Add water depending on the quality of rice. I added 1.75 cups water.
  9. Add salt as required. Stir and mix very well gently. Check the taste of the stock and it should taste a bit salty.
  10. Pressure cook baby corn pulao on medium heat for 2 to 3 whistles or 8 to 10 minutes. If you add 2 cups water, then pressure cook for 3 whistles and if you add 1.5 to 1.75 then cook for 2 whistles.
  11. Let the pressure come down naturally on its own and then only remove the lid. Fluff the rice gently with a fork.
  12. Serve baby corn rice with a side raita or a veggie salad or with plain curd. It can also be packed for tiffin box.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.