Sweet Corn Pulao / Bhutta Pulao

This is one of the most favorite dishes in our family and it is always a hit !! I learnt this recipe from Women's Era, a magazine in India.

  I used to be hooked up to this magazine and would not leave until I finished each and every bit of the book. And so tried most of the recipes from this book. I was good at this particular dish and hopefully it has never gone wrong till now!! Here is the recipe..

Ingredients :

Corn Kernels - 1 cup
Raw Basmati rice - 1 cup
Onion - 1
Garam masala - 2tsp
Salt to taste
Oil- 2tsp
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1tsp


To Grind:

Peanuts - 2tbsp
Onion - 1
Mint Leaves - a bunch
Cilantro - a bunch
Green Chillies -2
Chopped Ginger - 1tsp

Method :

• Firstly, Cook Basmati rice and keep it ready.
• Soak the peanuts in a cup of water for 30 minutes. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. Once they splutter add cumin seeds. Fry Onions until they turn transparent. 

• Meanwhile, grind the soaked peanuts, along with the other ingredients in 'To Grind' list. 

• After the onions are fried, add the ground masala paste. Fry this for a minute on a low flame until raw smell goes off. Add the sweet corn kernels now.

 

• Add garam masala powder and salt. Fry this paste until sweet corn gets coated well with the mixture.I like it at this stage as the yummy corn kernels just look like pearls .(I love to taste this mixture !!)

• Finally add the cooked basmati rice and mix well. Switch of the stove and garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with Raita or any gravy. We had it with Gobi masala.

Notes :

• I used canned sweet corn, so I just washed them and added directly.We can also used the corn cob, cook it and add the kernels.
• Adding peanuts gives a special taste to the rice.
• We can also use the ordinary rice also, I use bamsati rice for its aroma.

Tawa Pulao

I haven’t heard of this pulao until I found them through internet just by chance. 

It is a street side food which is very is famous in Mumbai.

CAPSICUM RICE / BELL PEPPER RICE

    I love bell peppers just as it is. Either cooked or raw or in whichever recipe it is. There is no week at home without cooking capsicum  at least once. I just love the crunchier taste when it is raw and the softer one when it is cooked. Overall I just love this vegetable irrespective of the taste of the dish :)

This time I made Capsicum Rice which is generally as a part of our Sunday Special Dishes...

Ingredients:

Basmati rice – 1 cup

Capsicum or Green Bell Pepper cut lengthwise– 2

Onion cut lengthwise– 1

Green peas – ¼ cup

Green chillies – 3 or 4

Garam masala – 1 tsp

Coriander powder or Dhaniya powder – 1 tsp (optional)

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Oil – 2 tsp

Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp

Jeera – 1 tsp

Cashew nuts – 2tsp

Method :

Soak green peas overnight. Cook them and keep them ready. Alternatively you cna also use fresh or frozen peas.

Cook Basmati rice seperately. Check How to cook basmati rice. Keep it aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. Once it splutters, add jeera and cashew nuts. Fry them for a minute and then add green chillies.

Now add onions and sauté them.

As soon as onions turn golden brown, add cooked green peas. Add salt.

Now add the chopped bell peppers. Fry them for around 5 mins. Make sure they don’t get mushier. They need to be crunchy.

Add turmeric powder, garam masala and coriander powder.

After the masala looses its raw flavour, add the cooked rice and mix well.

Garnish it with Chopped cilantro. I also added walnuts while garnishing.

Capsicum Rice is ready to be serve it with raita or any gravy. 

HOW TO COOK BASMATI RICE

   A very common question for the beginners (just like me :P ). How to Cook Basmati rice long and tender just as it hotels?

     The aroma of raw basmati rice itself is so tempting that I have always been wondering how to cook it because it tends to get overcooked easily. Basmati rice needs to fluffy and we have to be careful that the grain doesn’t break off. I generally cook basmati rice in three ways.

In a Pressure Cooker:

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice – 1 cup

Water – 1.5cups

Method:

Wash the basmati rice.

Soak it in 1.5 cups of water just for 10 mins.

Add this rice to pressure cooker along with water. Add a pinch of salt and oil to this. This helps prevent rice from getting over cooked.

Allow it for 1 whistle.

Let the pressure subside and let the rice cool down. Dont use a  spatula immediately. 

Fluff it with a fork.

Basmati rice is ready to be served.

  

Directly on Stove Top:

I generally prefer this method of cooking as it the safest and the best method to get basmati rice fluffy. Also it doesn’t take more than 10 mins.

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice – 1 cup

Water – 2 cups

Method:

Wash the basmati rice. This doesn’t need soaking of rice.

Add 2 cups of water in a wide bowl. Allow it to boil.

Now add the rice to boiling water.

Keep stirring occasionally. After 7 to 10 mins, you can find all the moisture getting evaporated.

Switch off the stove at this point. You might feel the rice is little wet. Once it gets cooled, the moisture will be lost.

 Now fluff it with a fork. The grains would be separate and tender and long just as in restaurants.

In my opinion this is the best and foolproof method to cook rice. You need not worry about rice getting overcooked at all.

  

In  a rice cooker:

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice – 1 cup

Water – 1.5cups

Method:

Wash the basmati rice.

There is no soaking required here.

Add 1 cup of basmati rice in the rice cooker.

Add 1.5 cups of water.

Put the rice cooker in ‘Cook’ mode.

Switch off the rice cooker, once it reaches ‘Keep warm’ mode.

Allow the rice to cool and Serve it.