Corn Peas Pulao is an interesting rice dish because of the wonderful and colorful combination of sweet corn and peas. In erstwhile India, sweet corn was not found easily but now that it is available everywhere, it is widely used in Indian cooking today. Cooked sweet corn has anti-cancer properties and peas are good for regulating blood sugar and boosting immune system. All this makes Corn Peas Pulao a wholesome, attractive and delectable one-pot meal.
Ingredients:
- Rice (Any variety of your choice) – 1.5 cups
- Peas – 1/2 cup
- American Sweet Corn – 1/2 cup
- Ginger – 1/2 inch piece
- Medium Sized Onions – 2
- Garam Masala – 1 teaspoon
- Black Pepper Powder – 1/2 teaspoon
- Salt to taste
- Oil – 2 tablespoons
- Cashew Nuts – 8 to 10 (Optional)
Servings: 3-4 persons
Preparation Time: 1 Hour
Cooking Time: 30 mins.
Method
Soak rice in water for an hour.
Chop onions into thin long strips and grate the ginger piece. Open and split the cashew nuts into two pieces.
Now take a heavy bottomed large vessel and add oil to it. Heat the oil and once hot, fry the cashew nuts till they turn light brown on low heat. Keep aside the fried cashew nuts.
Now in the same oil used above, add onions and ginger and fry till they turn brown.
Next, drain all the water from the soaked rice and add rice, peas and sweet corn to the vessel, and cook for another minute.
Add salt, black pepper powder and garam masala and mix well.
Now is the tricky step to add water. Generally, the amount of water to be added is double the amount of rice quantity. But the water required to cook rice varies a bit depending on the type of rice used. We used the local rice variety for this recipe which requires 3 times the quantity of water as rice i.e. 4.5 cups of water in this case. So, if you are aware of the quantity of water required for the type of rice you use, add water accordingly. When in doubt, always use little less water because you can add water later if needed. But excess water in beginning itself will spoil the texture of the Corn Peas Pulao.
After adding water, cover the vessel and cook on low flame till the rice gets cooked completely. Do not stir too much in between as that can make rice mushy. If all the water is used up but the rice still seems uncooked, you can add little more water as needed and cook for some more time.
Once rice is cooked, switch off the stove and add cashew nuts. Gently mix it into the pulao.
Corn Peas Pulao is ready. Serve hot with any accompaniment of your choice like raita, chutney or pickle.