A unique Corn Pulao recipe or Green Corn Rice that is slightly spicy, fragrant and made with tender sweet corn, onions, spices and with a special green paste (or green masala) made from herbs, coconut and spices. Serve the Corn Pulao with raita or vegetable salad for a comforting and tasty meal.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 20 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup white rice (heaped- 210 grams or use basmati rice or any non-sticky rice)
  • 1.5 cups sweet corn kernels
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 medium to large onion, (thinly sliced or ½ cup sliced onion)
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder
  • ½ teaspoon coriander powder
  • 2 cups water (or add as required)
  • salt as required
  • 2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves for garnish
  • ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves
  • 1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves
  • 1 inch ginger (- chopped or ½ teaspoon chopped ginger)
  • 1 or 2 green chilies (- chopped)
  • 3 to 4 small garlic (- chopped)
  • 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut (or fresh coconut)
  • 1 to 2 tablespoon water for grinding
  • 1 small to medium tej patta ((Indian bay leaf))
  • 2 green cardamoms
  • 2 to 3 cloves
  • 1 inch cinnamon
  • 1 small star anise ((chakriphool) - optional)
  • 1 or 2 single strands of mace ((javitri))
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 4 to 5 black peppers
  • 1 tiny piece of stone flower ((patthar ke phool) - optional)

Method

Preparation

  1. Rinse rice well in water for a few times and then soak in enough water for 20 to 30 minutes.
  2. After 20 to 30 minutes drain the water from the rice well and keep aside. I used ambe mohur rice (mango blossom rice). You can also use basmati rice or regular rice.
  3. When the rice is soaking, slice the corn kernels from the corn. Keep them aside. From 1 medium corn cob, I got 1.5 cups corn kernels. You can also use 1 cup frozen corn kernels.

Making green paste

  1. Take the ingredients mentioned "for green paste" in a small grinder or chutney grinder.
  2. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water and grind or blend to a smooth paste. You can skip coconut, if you don't have. In this case, add 1 to 2 teaspoon water while grinding or blending.
  3. If not blending then simply add chopped coriander and mint leaves after the onions are browned, directly in the pressure cooker. Also add 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste and skip desiccated coconut.

Making corn pulao

  1. Heat oil in a stovetop pressure cooker. Add all the spices mentioned under the list "whole spices". Allow them to crackle.
  2. Then add the thinly sliced onions. Saute stirring often onion still they start becoming golden.
  3. Then add the ground green paste. Stir well and saute for a couple of seconds.
  4. Then add the corn kernels.
  5. Season with the following spices - turmeric powder, red chili powder and coriander powder.
  6. Stir very well and add the rice. Gently stir and mix the rice with the rest of the ingredients.
  7. Now add 1.75 to 2 cups water. Depending on the type and quality of rice, you can add water. For basmati rice, you can add 1.5 to 1.75 cups of water.
  8. Organic basmati rice requires more water to cook. So add 2 cups of water for organic basmati rice. Stir.
  9. Season with salt as required. Check the taste and the water should have a slightly salty taste.
  10. Cover and pressure cook corn rice on a medium heat for 2 whistles or for 9 to 12 minutes. Here I pressure cooked for 15 minutes, since ambe mohur rice takes a longer time to cook than basmati rice.
  11. When the pressure settles down on its own, then only remove the lid. Gently fluff the rice.
  12. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
  13. And then serve corn pulao with a side veggie salad or raita or plain yogurt or pickle of your choice.

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.