Chettinad Baby Corn Pulao/Spicy Baby Corn Rice

Chettinad Baby corn Pulao is a spicy, vegetarian one-pot meal made with baby corns, rice and some aromatic chettinad spices, made in a pressure pan. Paired with a side of raita (spiced yogurt) and a salad or potato chips, it is a complete meal, perfect for a lazy Sunday brunch!!

Indian cuisine is being appreciated and loved by people all over the world and one of the most sought after Indian dishes is biryani or pulao! The happy and flavorful marriage of exotic and aromatic Indian spices with rice and a variety of vegetables and sometimes meat or chicken (for non-vegetarians) is a must in all Indian weddings and a most ordered dish in any Indian restaurant!

Every Sunday afternoon lunch is a special affair in our home and sometimes when I am lazy to make an elaborate meal, vegetable pulao is the first dish that comes to mind.

With fresh baby corns lying in my refrigerator and my palate longing for something spicy and quick, chettinad pulao with baby corn was the treat I was going to give my family and me!!

Chettinad cuisine hails from a small community in Tamilnadu (in the southern part of India), called the Chettiars. They are known for using freshly ground masalas, a variety of aromatic spices like star anise, Marathi moggu (dried flower pods), fennel seeds, black pepper etc. and most of their dishes are rice based.

I am sure you will enjoy this unique spicy Chettinad flavor! You may choose to use any vegetable you like (cauliflower, mushrooms, potatoes etc.) or even paneer (an Indian cottage cheese), meat, chicken etc. and feel free to reduce or increase the spices.

The fun part of making this pulao is you can choose to flavor with spices available in your pantry with very slight variation in taste.

Do try this simple but spicy and flavorful pulao either in a pressure pan, instant pot or in a large pot (cook with the required amount of water in a closed pan till all the water is absorbed and the rice is fully cooked and fluffy, adding more water in between if necessary).

For more rice dishes, try:

Step-wise Instructions to make Baby Corn Chettinad Pulao:

You will need:

½ cup basmati rice (or any other long grain rice)
1 medium red onion, sliced
½ cup fresh/frozen green peas
8 to 10 baby corns, sliced

For the baby corn marinade:

¼ cup mint leaves
¼ cup coriander leaves/cilantro
2 green chilis/jalapenos
1 inch piece ginger
2 small cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of grated coconut (fresh or frozen)
½ teaspoon coriander powder
½ teaspoon garam masala powder
½ teaspoon red chilli powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons yogurt
Salt to taste

Rest of the ingredients:

2 to 3 cloves
1 marathi moggu/Kapok bud
1 small bayleaf
¼ teaspoon jeera/cumin seeds
¼ teaspoon saunf/fennel seeds
3 to 4 black peppercorns
1 star anise
1 green cardamom
½ inch piece cinnamon
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon ghee
Salt to taste

Instructions:

Wash rice in plenty of water and drain. Soak this in fresh water for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Drain and keep aside.
Prepare the marinade paste.
Add the mint leaves, coriander leaves, ginger, garlic, jalapenos and coconut in a blender jar.

Make into a fairly fine paste.

Add this paste along with the dry spice powders, yogurt and salt to the chopped baby corns.

Mix well and keep aside for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Once the rice and baby corns are ready to be cooked, heat a pressure pan on medium high heat.
Add the oil and ghee and once hot, stir in the dry whole spices (clove, cinnamon, Marathi moggu, star anise, jeera, saunf, bay leaf and cardamom.

Stir for a few seconds till you get a good aroma. Do not let it burn.
Tip in the sliced onions and sauté on medium till soft and light golden brown.

Once the onions are soft and brown, add the marinated babycorns and stir gently.

Cook and fry on medium heat till the babycorn is slightly cooked and you can see oil separating slightly. This takes about 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir in the drained rice, green peas and salt to taste and mix gently.

Keep frying this mixture on medium low for about 2 to 3 minutes, till all the moisture content has evaporated and each grain of rice is glistening and well coated with the oil and spices!
Add 1 ½ cups to 2 cups of hot water (I used 1 ½ cups), depending upon the type of rice used (you can rinse the bowl in which the baby corns were marinated and the blender jar in which the chutney was made with water and use this along with plain water to make 1 ½ cups for cooking the pulao).

Stir gently, taste for salt and close the pressure pan with the weight on.
Heat on high, and after 1 whistle, lower the heat to low and cook for 5 more minutes. You can also cook on high for 2 to 3 whistles and turn the heat off.
Let the pressure release on its own. Once the pressure is released completely, open the pressure pan, and gently fluff up the pulao with a fork.

Transfer to a dish or bowl, garnish with coriander leaves or mint leaves and serve this spicy, tasty and flavorful baby corn chettinad pulao with onion raita (mix yogurt with sliced onions and salt), boondi raita (season plain yogurt with salt and powdered sugar according to your taste and stir in fried boondis just before serving) or just plain yogurt along with potato chips or a salad!!