Spiced Basmati Rice and Sweet Corn Pilaf

By David Tanis

Updated May 3, 2016

  • Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
1 hour
Rating
5(121)
Comments
Read comments

Featured in: The Promise of More Than Perfection

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

    or to print this recipe.

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:6 generous servings

  • 2 cups Basmati rice

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter or ghee

  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic

  • 1 tablespoon grated ginger

  • ½ teaspoon turmeric

  • Pinch saffron

  • ½ teaspoon coriander seeds

  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds

  • 8 whole cloves

  • ½ teaspoon black peppercorns

  • 2 cardamom pods

  • 1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)

  • 3 cups fresh corn kernels (about 6 ears corn)

  • Salt

  • 1 cup golden raisins

  • 2 cups chicken broth or water

  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

  • 2 tablespoons chopped scallions

  • ¼ cup roasted cashews (optional)

  • Yogurt raita (see recipe)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

99 grams carbs; 23 milligrams cholesterol; 540 calories; 5 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 13 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 753 milligrams sodium; 12 grams protein; 23 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Put rice in a medium bowl and cover with cold water. Swish with fingers, then pour off water. Repeat 2 or 3 times, until water runs clear. Cover again with cold water and soak 20 minutes, then drain.

  2. Step 2

    Melt 2 tablespoons butter or ghee in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, ginger, turmeric, saffron, coriander, cumin, cloves, peppercorns and cardamom, and stir to coat. Let sizzle a bit, then add onion and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to color, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter or ghee, the rice and the corn, and season with ½ teaspoon salt. Cook for 1 minute. Add raisins and 2 cups broth or water and bring to brisk simmer. Taste cooking liquid for salt and adjust if necessary.

  3. Step 3

    Cover with tight-fitting lid, turn heat to low and let cook 15 minutes. Let rest 10 to 15 minutes off heat. Fluff rice and transfer to serving bowl. Sprinkle with cilantro, scallions and cashews, if desired. Serve with yogurt raita.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

5 out of 5
121 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Gail

I made this just as written. There was too much corn, and it seemed out of balance. I think it would be good even without any corn, however.

Peter

This dish was great. An innovative use of sweet corn while capturing the spirit of biryani. Unfortunately, the linked raita in the recipe is not the one that was cited in the original article. Try the proper raita - it makes the dish even better. https://body-change.today/recipes/1014947-yogurt-raita-with-chile-and-...%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cdiv class="noteactions_noteActions__VlyP0">

Diane

Just leaving it out would be the most obvious option. I'd probably substitute 2c small-diced winter squash or sweet potatoes to cook along with the rice or throw in frozen peas before the rest step. Chopped sweet red pepper would be nice.

Kara S

I was looking for a rice dish using some amount of ingredients I already had (or had similar substitutions) so I made this with several mods. I didn’t have all of the dry seasonings so I improvised, aiming to use a roughly similar total amount - 2 tsp garam masala (my mix included saffron and it wasn’t spicy), 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp allspice, 1/4 tsp cumin. I used 1 med shallot instead of onion. And like other commenters said, 6 ears are too much!! I used 2 ears (~1 1/2 cups) and it was perfect. I also figured 1 cup raisins would make it far too sweet, especially with the corn, so I chopped 5 dates to sub. Lastly, I left off the garnishes because I just didn’t have them on hand, but I can see how they would really improve the taste and visuals. Overall, it was very delicious and easy to make. I’ll be cooking this again!

laura, a Spaniard in Greece

I performed a smalll variation concerning the liquid, Ive used one third of home made vegetable broth, one third of water and one third of thick coconut milk. I previously deeped the saffron in the broth when heating..like we do in Spain when we cook paella. I thought too much corn too, so I used half the recommended amount..the final result was supertasty and creamy. Loved it.

Summer

I wonder if I can successfully make this ahead up through step 2? I would reheat and finish at step 3.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.