Corn and Scallion Pulao
Pulao, Pilaf or pilau is a rice based dish cooked in some kind of broth or stock or water with spices and vegetables for vegetarians and meat eaters would add meat. It is often cooked in a way that the rice stays separated after cooking. If by chance you overcook the rice, it turns into more porridge like consistency, that’s not pulao.
Pulao can be easy to make, if you buy the best long grain rice, I am bias to basmati rice. And, if you prepare the rice carefully for it to retain the shape and stay separated that’s the key to good pulao.
In India, pulao is often eaten with raita, yogurt or for us Gujaratis we also like it with Kadhi. It is such a comfort meal to have a bowl of steaming pulao, kadhi and add in some papad to it. I am a happy camper, especially in cooler weather. However, this recipe will be best with raita.
I was watching a documentary recently on Silk route, and they showed pulao is such a well-known dish in Tashkent. You can find variations of pulao in lot of cultures not only in India.
Caribbean has a dish with peas and rice, and some spices and it is a variation of Pelau.
In Middle Eastern and Persian cooking also, Pilaf is a famous dish. Afganis make a very delicious Kabuli Pulav with nuts, raisins and chickpeas. I can keep going on about which other cultures has a pulao recipe.
You can use instant pot, pressure cooker or in a pot. There are times, I just mix everything in an instant pot and make pulao, and sometimes, I will cook rice separately and add the rest of ingredients. Either method or ways will give you good results.
But, for this particular recipe, I cooked the rice separately and let it cool off before mixing it because the corn mixture has some moisture in it and it can turn the pulao into something very mushy.
Make sure, when you cook the corn mixture the moisture is gone or mixture becomes dry. It will be easy to mix the rice and not break it.
I only use Basmati rice in my house, so whether I am making khichdi or pulao, or any other rice preparation, it is mostly Basmati variety. I will highly recommend that for this dish. Basmati rice also comes out light, fluffy and separate easily. If you prefer not to use Basmati rice, use any other long grain rice, short grain has no chance in this recipe.
Rinse the rice couple of times to remove the starch and that would help us have separated grains.I cannot stress enough about it. The beauty of pulao is you can add minimal ingredients and it will still come out really tasty. In Gujarati, we call it ‘sado pulao’.
If you are having a feast or guests over, you jazz up the rice and not serve plain rice. You add dried nuts, sultanas, saffron, etc.
I have used corn two different ways, first I have grated the corn as my mom would do it and secondly, I have added corn kernels too for some extra crunch, flavor and texture.
Rest of the ingredients are very simple, it has minimal spices. I would suggest you decrease the spices but not completely avoid it. My mom would ideally use green bell pepper, but I have used red just because that’s what I had in fridge but it has also gives a nice red color to the yellow looking dish.
Scallions add nice mild onion-y taste. Don’t leave them out.
Corn and Scallion Pilaf
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup Long grain Rice, (Basmati) soaked
- 1 cup grated corn approx. from 2 corn
- 1 corn on cob kernels removed
- 1 bell pepper Green or red, chopped
- 3-4 scallions whites and green part separated, chopped
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp ginger
- 1 tsp green chili paste
- 2 tsp garam masala
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- 1/3 cup cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Wash rice couple of times with cold water to rinse of the starch from it. Soak rice for at least 10-20 mins. After, soaking boil about 2.5 cups of water, add rice to it and let it cook for exactly 11-12 minutes. Do not over cook it. Don’t cook rice to a point where it turns mushy. We want to keep the grains separate.
- After 12 minutes, drain rice in a strainer. Run cold water on it until it stops steaming further and rice is cool to touch.
- Let it sit until you work on the next step. (Sometimes, I leave it in fridge or counter top for few hours to let it dry out a little bit)
- With the help of grater, grate two corn. You will get some liquid also. Set it aside.
- With the other corn, I microwave it with the husk for about 2-3 minutes to cook the kernels. Once, it is out remove kernels using a knife. Be safe. Reserve this to use at the end.
- Heat a pan, add the oil. Once the oil is hot enough, add cumin seeds. As soon as they splutter add bell peppers and white part of the scallions. Add the ginger and chili paste too.
- Saute it until it is slightly cooked.
- Add the grated corn with the liquid that was released while grating.
- Cook this mixture for about 10 minutes or until it starts drying out a little bit. I let it stick slightly and then stir it up. The idea is to dry it out so when we mix the rice, it does not make it mushy and the grains stay separated.
- Once you feel the mixture is dried out a little bit and cooked, add in the spices one by one. Mix it well.
- Now, add the rice little at a time. While stirring the rice into the mixture be careful to fold rather than just regular mixing up. You want to be very careful to not break the grain and want to retain the long shape of Basmati rice. If you mix it roughly, the grains will break.
- Mix until all the rice gets incorporated. I covered the pot with a lid and let it cook at a very slow flame for another few minutes until it looked perfectly cooked and the grains were dry, separated. Be careful not to scorch the bottom of the rice.
- Cook it for few seconds and turn off the flame.
- Garnish with green part of the scallions and cilantro.
- Serve it with some cool, refreshing raita.
Notes
Another tip is to add a tbsp of oil once you drain the rice. That also helps keep grains separate. Be gentle while you mix the cooked rice to the corn mixture.
Timer is a must so that the rice is not overcooked. Did you try this recipe? Tag @pistachiodoughnut on Instagram and hashtag #pistachiodoughnutrecipes
XOXO, Devangi